| Program | Description |
|---|---|
| Industry Training Partnerships (ITP) (Manitoba) |
ITP includes three programs that support training employee needs: Sectoral Partnerships, Province-wide Special Courses, and Workplace Essential Skills. ITP operates on a consortium basis – individual companies are not eligible for assistance from ITP (with the exception of single large companies which constitute ‘the industry’ in Manitoba). Large umbrella associations of similar businesses develop specific training projects and apply for funding. |
| Strategic Skills Initiative (Ontario) |
This program offered grants to public/private partnerships established to develop and operate training projects that addressed skills training needed for business competitiveness. |
| Workplace Education Initiative (Nova Scotia) |
The Department of Education’s Workplace Education Initiative, has two parts. The Workplace Education Program provides on-the-job training that is customized to the needs of the organization. The Workplace Education Initiative provides funding to different types of organizations, mostly small businesses. The Workforce Skills Development Program, helps workers in transition (unemployed or entering the labour force) to develop essential skills useful for acquiring a new job. This may include funding employers for the purpose of hiring and training formerly unemployed workers. |
| The Act to Foster the Development of Manpower Training (Québec) |
The Act, passed in 1995, requires every employer whose total annual payroll exceeds $1 million ($250,000 before January 1, 2004) to participate in the development of manpower training by devoting at least 1 percent of the total payroll to eligible training expenditures. If the training investment does not meet this requirement, the difference is to be remitted to the National Training Fund. The Act has two specific objectives: (1) to improve manpower skills; (2) to generate increased investment in training through concerted action by the main players in the labour market. |
(In this study, apprenticeship programs were considered a special type of employer-based training program)
Sectoral approaches to skills development issues have garnered momentum in many countries. In Canada, the Sector Council Program was launched in 1993 and progressively expanded as it covered larger numbers of sectors. There are currently 29 national sector councils,38 forming a network that covers approximately 40 percent of Canada’s labour force. The Alliance of Sector Councils (TASC) is the umbrella organization for the network. The objectives of the sector councils are as follows:
38 The sectoral approach has also some resonance
in provinces such as in Québec (comités sectoriels
de main-d’oeuvre). The main mandates of these organizations are
broadly similar to the national ones: to define needs specific to the sector,
to propose measures to stabilise employment and reduce unemployment, and to
develop continuing education.
39 http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/hip/hrp/corporate/sector/sectorcouncil.shtml#whatare
(last accessed March 25, 2006).