What are the Benefits of Being or Hiring an Apprentice?

Many young students and potential employees are looking to enter the workforce.

Some businesses are looking to grow or are expecting seasonal growth during this time of year and there are great opportunities not just for those looking to get hired but for those doing the hiring too—particularly when it comes to apprentices.

Grants and funding for people looking to become an apprentice

Service Canada offers apprenticeship grants of up to a combined total of $4,000.00 for an apprentice through its Apprentice Incentive Grant and Apprentice Completion Grant programs. This can help pay for tuition, travel, tools or other related expenses.

Apprenticeship Incentive Grant (AIG)

• Offers up a taxable cash grant of $1,000 per year/level up to a maximum of $2,000 for apprentices in registered Red Seal Trades. See http://www.red-seal.ca/images/Ontario.html for a complete list of designated trades in Ontario, eligible for the AIG.

Apprenticeship Completion Grant (ACG)

• Offers up a taxable cash grant of $2,000 to an apprentice that has completed their training to become certified journeypersons in designated Red Seal trades.

The Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) offers an Apprenticeship Completion Bonus in Non-Red Seal Trades. This is a one time, $2,000 taxable cash grant to an apprentice who completes an apprenticeship training program and receives certification in a non-Red Seal trade.

Other grants and funding:
• Interest-free loans on tools required to perform the tasks of the trade
• Up to $500 in tax deductions to cover the cost of new tools required for the trade
• $1,500 Grant for apprentices who are not ineligible for EI benefits while they go to school

Grants and funding from the MTCU for those hiring apprentices :
Employer bonuses
• $2,000 signing bonus to employers who register new apprentices in sectors where there is high demand for skilled workers
• $1,000 to employers or sponsors whose apprentices complete an apprenticeship program in any trade

Apprenticeship tax credits

• Federal: Apprenticeship Job Creation Tax Credit (AJCTC): provides a non-refundable tax credit equal to 10% of eligible salaries and wages up to a maximum of $2,000 per year per apprentice. An eligible apprentice is someone working in a Red Seal Trade during their first two years of the apprenticeship contract. This credit may be carried back three years and carried forward 20 years if not used in the tax year.

• Provincial: Ontario Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit (ATTC): provides a non-refundable tax credit of up to $10,000 per year per apprentice for up to 4 years (the first 48 month period).

British Columbia Training Tax credit provides a refundable tax credit to employers of apprentices based on a tiered system: Basic Tax Credit of up to $4,000 (non-Red Seal training programs), Completion Tax Credit of up to $3,000 (for both Red Seal and non-Red Seal training programs) and the Enhanced Tax Credit (for First Nation individuals and persons with disabilities) which provides grossed up credits worth up to $6,000 and $4,500 respectively for Basic and Completion Tax Credits respectively.

Where to start

In Ontario:

1) Evaluate your work place to become a training facility for an apprentice:
The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (TCU) can have one of their employment and training consultants (ETCs) visit your work place to assess the feasibility of training an apprentice at your place of business.

2) Who will train the apprentice?
Only 21 select trades require a Certificate of Qualification to be held by the trainer—in most other cases, a Certificate of Apprenticeship is adequate. The ETC can assist in providing more guidance on this matter during his/her on site assessment.

3) Registering your apprentice for a training agreement:
Once you have found an apprentice and want to get him or her registered, arrange for the ETC to visit both you and your apprentice for a meeting. At the meeting, ensure that you have your apprentice provide critical information and records of their academics, SIN card, driver’s license and a $40 registration fee.
The ETC will go over these details and assess the apprentice’s education and experience to date, and copies of the training agreement are signed by all parties and the ETC registers the agreement

4) Monitoring your apprentice:
Ensure that the apprentice is being trained appropriately by the trainer and in accordance with the skills set out in the training standard. Keep tabs on the apprentice and trainer and see that the skills sets are being achieved by the apprentice and acknowledged by the trainer. Tracking the hours is necessary to ensure wages/salary expenses are properly calculated for any apprenticeship tax credits claimed. Finally, confirm that the classroom training component has been completed and that the apprentice’s attendance requirements have been met.

In British Columbia:

An employer/supervisor must have sign off authority in order to train apprentices. Some experienced tradespersons may not be required to hold certification in the trade in order to have sign off authority, depending on the trade’s requirements. To apply for sign off authority:

1) Complete the Industry Training Authority’s (ITA) Supervision and Sign-off Authority application forms
2) Include the required Declarations of Work Experience or notarized or sworn Statutory Declarations where Employer Declarations were not available
3) Allow for approximately 6 weeks for ITA to assess your application and to communicate the results of the application via e-mail.

By following these steps, the apprentice can be well on his or her way to earning the Certificate of Apprenticeship and the employer can ensure a smooth process is in place to earn many of the financial incentives associated with the hiring of apprentices.