Government offers new grant for apprentices

If your bakery had invested in an apprentice, or if you had applied to be a baker’s apprentice in early 2020, your company may be eligible for the following disbursements.

The government is providing an Ontario Tools Grant of $2.5 million in 2020-21 and $7.5 million in 2021-22 and ongoing. This will help new eligible apprentices purchase the equipment they need to start their careers. The funding amounts of $400 for those in service sector trades will be offered for disbursement.

To be eligible for the new grant, apprentices must have:

• completed level 1 training on or after April 1, 2020;
• an active registered training agreement; and
• been registered as an apprentice for at least 12 months.

The government is also forgiving more than $10 million in outstanding loans owed by apprentices for tool purchases made at the beginning of their careers. The Loans for Tools Program allowed thousands of new apprentices to buy tools, equipment, clothing, manuals and code books required for their trade.

About 19,000 apprentices who participated in the program owed, on average, $495.

“If we are going to rebuild our economy, we must reach out and help the workers and businesses that are suffering as a result of COVID-19,” said Minister McNaughton in a statement. “The programs that we are announcing today will leave more money in the pockets of our apprentices and support those hospitality workers who have been laid-off by providing access to the training and services they need to recover and rejoin the workforce.”