Canada-Ontario Job Grant (COJC)

Who can apply

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is currently accepting applications from individual employers if they involve training 25 or fewer participants.

Before you apply, make sure you meet all eligibility requirements in these areas:

1. employer eligibility
2. trainee eligibility
3. eligible training

Employer eligibility requirements

Eligible employers

The Ontario Job Grant (OJG) is open to:

Individual private and non‑profit sector employers that meet the eligibility requirements set out in the OJG Application Guidelines.

Location

Employers must have a physical location in Ontario and have been carrying out business at that location for at least one year. The training they’re seeking funding for must be:

1. delivered in Ontario
2. delivered by an eligible training provider
3. provided only to trainees identified by the eligible employer
4. must be completed within 52 weeks of the training start date

Compliance

Employers must comply with all applicable legislation, including, but not limited to:

1. Occupational Health and Safety Act
2. Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
3. Employment Standards Act
4. all federal and provincial human rights legislation, such as the Human Rights Code

Insurance

Employers must maintain and declare appropriate Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) or private disability insurance coverage, as applicable, to cover the cost of work-related injuries/occupational diseases, as well as adequate third-party general liability insurance.

Conflict of interest declaration

The employer must declare any actual or perceived conflict of interest between the employer, trainees and/or training provider.

For OJG, a conflict of interest may include any circumstance where any of the following parties has outside commitments, relationships, or financial interests that could, or could be seen to, interfere with the program’s objectives and integrity:

1. employer
2. training provider
3. any person related to, affiliated with, or has the capacity to influence the employer’s or training provider’s decisions, including board members, shareholders, and their immediate family members, such as spouses, common-law partners, adult interdependent partners, children (biological, step, adopted), parents, and siblings

Employers and training providers will be required to complete an attestation form to confirm they meet the requirements.

Eligible trainees

Trainees must be either Canadian citizens, permanent residents or protected persons living in Ontario and meet the following below requirements:

1. resident of Ontario
2. legally authorized to work in Canada
3. employed with and identified by the employer applying to OJG

Employers must provide the ministry with a copy of the permanent or conditional job offer for each newly hired individual, which must include the trainee’s:

1. name
2. job title
3. employment start date
4. trainee’s signature

Eligible training

Employers can choose the training best suited to address their workforce needs if it meets the eligibility criteria below.

The ministry may ask for additional information from training providers to:

1. support their assessment of OJG applications
2. support the administration of the OJG program
3. inform funding decisions

Eligible training providers

Training must be provided by a third-party training provider that maintains a physical presence in Ontario throughout the training term and that has been in the business of providing the applicable training for at least two years. The applicant is responsible for finding a training provider that meets eligibility criteria.

Training providers must also be one of the following types of third-party providers:

1. publicly assisted college, university or Indigenous Institute in Ontario
2. District School Board
3. career college and vocational program provider registered under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005 (formerly known as the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005) and in compliance with the Act, or career college and vocational program provider that is exempt from registration in accordance with that Act
4. union-based training centre
5. sector council
6. industry association

Trainer requirements: education and experience

All instructors delivering OJG training must have relevant education and experience.

Where training will not be provided by a publicly assisted college, university, or Indigenous Institute or District School Board, the instructors providing the training must meet at least one of the following criteria:

1. 48 months of experience, within the last 10 years, working in a profession or trade relevant to the training being provided, or teaching a program to prepare a student for the field (or a combination of the two)
2. At least 24 months of experience, within the last 10 years, working or teaching in the profession/trade relevant to the training being provided, plus one of the following qualifications:

• a Canadian bachelor's degree (or equivalent foreign degree)
• a certificate of qualification issued under the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021
• status as a graduate of a publicly assisted college, university or Indigenous Institute or registered Ontario career college (or equivalent institution outside Ontario)

Training instructors subject to professional requirements prescribed by regulation must also meet those requirements to be eligible under OJG.

Restrictions

Displacement of workers

The OJG cannot be used to displace existing staff or substitute laid-off employees.

Misuse of funds

Employers may be restricted from future funding if they:

1. supply inaccurate information
2. do not meet program requirements
3. misuse OJG funds