APPENDIX E

Canada

As well, the percentage of seats reserved for women by the federal government in provincial training centres will rise from 20 to 30 per cent. This means women will get priority placement in non-traditional courses which often have long waiting lists. As a result, more women will be trained for high-skill, high-paying occupations.

Starting September 1, women who cannot get UI benefits while on training will get higher allowances for living, training and child care expenses.

"These increases should mean that more women will be able to afford to take training,. Mr. Axworthy said. "Previously many women, particularly those facing child care costs, were penalized during lengthy training courses."

Dependant care allowances will rise and greatly benefit women who are the sole supporters of their families and need financial help for child care. The weekly rate has jumped from $20 to $50 for one child, from $35 to $80 for two children and from $65 to $130 for five children.

Regular training allowances for those with dependents will also be increased. For example, on top of the dependant care allowance, a woman with one dependant will receive a regular allowance of $100 a week during training while one with five dependents will receive $160 a week.

Under the new rates, those who have to maintain two households while away on training courses will qualify for an extra $45 a week ($55 in the Yukon and Northwest Territories).

The Skills Growth Fund now has a new feature that enables non-profit organizations to apply for up to $50,000 to develop project proposals. This funding will enable Women's groups to develop proposals to establish training program to meet the specific needs of women.

"Some women's organizations have great ideas for projects but they don't have the resources to put together a detailed proposal", Mr. Axworthy said. "We want to ensure that they can apply for funaing and put their ideas to work."

Mr. Axworthy pointed out that these measures are part of a training strategy currently being developed.

The National Training Program will get $90 million in extra funding for 1983-84 and 1984-85, bringing its budget up to $1.2 billion for this fiscal year. The $90 million will be channeled into higher training allowances and the Skills Growth Fund.

The extra funding for the program reflects the federal government's commitment to meet the challenges of technological change and changing skill needs by developing Canada's labor force.