Program directory · Employment and Social Development Canada
Apprenticeship Grants
- Department
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Program code
- BGO20 (HRSD)
- Core responsibility
- Learning, Skills Development and Employment
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2022-23 · Appeared and later dropped
What it does
The Program provides grants (up to $4,000 for all apprentices and up to $8,000 for women in trades where they are under-represented) to eligible apprentices in designated Red Seal trades for completing their first and second year of their apprenticeship or upon receipt of their journeyperson certification. The Program provides these grants through the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, the Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women, and the Apprenticeship Completion Grant.
The objective of the Program is to support entry/progression and completion/certification within an apprenticeship program in a designated Red Seal trade.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprenticeship Grants | This program | 2018-19 – 2024-25 | $418M |
| Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy | Later program (name match, low confidence) | 2022-23 – 2028-29 | $435M |
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Indicators added: Number of Apprenticeship Completion Grants issued.; Number of Apprenticeship Incentive Grants for Women issued; Number of Apprenticeship Incentive Grants issued. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2019-20 | Indicators dropped: Number of apprentices receiving Apprenticeship Completion Grants; Number of apprentices receiving Apprenticeship Incentive Grants | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Spending $65.1M, against $98.3M in 2019-20 (−34%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Employees (FTEs) 86, against 56 in 2020-21 (+54%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Spending $94.3M, against $65.1M in 2020-21 (+45%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Spending $63.4M, against $94.3M in 2021-22 (−33%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Appears to be replaced by Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
| 2023-24 | Planned spending $119M, against $63.4M in 2022-23 (+87%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≥ 23,000 | 2020 | 22,299 The number of persons requesting the Grant fell short of the anticipated target by 3%. Fewer apprentices completed their training than was anticipated. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 23,000 | 2021 | 13,577 The closure of most post-secondary institutions from March to September due to COVID-19 and periodic closures during the year of many worksites negatively impacted the progress of apprentices and contributed to a sharp decline in the number of grants issued. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 23,000 | 2022 | 21,868 The variance of less than 5% is attributable to the program’s overall take up rate. Eligible apprentices may not be applying for the grants to which they are entitled, or not providing the necessary documentation to complete the application process. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 22,000 | 2023 | 19,336 The latent effects of COVID-19 (decrease in new apprentice registrations in 2020 and an increase in withdrawal from apprenticeship) resulted in fewer applications than forecasted. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | At least 2,100 AIG-W | 2021 | 2,318 While the closure of most post-secondary institutions from March to September due to COVID-19 resulted in fewer Apprenticeship Incentive Grants for Women issued in 2020-2021, compared to the number issued in 2019-2020 (3,035), this indicator exceeded its established target. | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 2,100 | 2022 | 2,923 | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 2,300 | 2023 | 3,204 The Apprenticeship Incentive Grants for Women has consistently exceeded its target since it was implemented in 2018. | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≥ 48,000 | 2020 | 40,039 The variance between target and fiscal year result is attributable to the program’s overall take up rate, where eligible apprentices are not applying for the grants to which they are entitled, or not providing the necessary documentation to complete the application process. In addition, since December 2018, several women who used to receive Apprenticeship Incentive Grants are now receiving the Ap… | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 48,000 | 2021 | 25,977 The closure of most post-secondary institutions from March to September due to COVID-19 and periodic closures during the year of many worksites negatively impacted progress of apprentices and contributed to a sharp decline in the number of grants issued. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 48,000 | 2022 | 34,068 The variance between the target and the actual results is attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in temporary closures of many businesses and apprenticeship training facilities. Many first and second year apprentices were laid off and unable to continue in apprenticeship. Fewer apprentices hired in 2020-2021 resulted in a decreased demand for grants in 2021-2022. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 35,000 | 2023 | 31,524 The variance of 10% is attributable to the program’s lower than expected overall take up rate. Eligible apprentices may not be applying for the grants to which they are entitled, or not providing the necessary documentation to complete the application process. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 23,000 | 2019 | 23,801 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 47,800 | 2019 | 42,860 Lower than expected number of grants issued reflects a decline in grant application completion rates by potentially eligible apprentices. | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
No indicators in the 2026-27 plan.
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $121M | $96.8M |
| 2019-20 | $119M | $98.3M |
| 2020-21 | $118M | $65.1M |
| 2021-22 | $119M | $94.3M |
| 2022-23 | $119M | $63.4M |
| 2023-24 | $119M* | — |
| 2024-25 | $119M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 72 | 62 |
| 2019-20 | 72 | 63 |
| 2020-21 | 72 | 56 |
| 2021-22 | 72 | 86 |
| 2022-23 | 72 | 78 |
| 2023-24 | 72* | — |
| 2024-25 | 72* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $120,777,849 | $120,777,849 | $120,777,849 | ||||
| 2019-20 plan | $119,055,639 | $120,155,639 | $120,155,639 | ||||
| 2020-21 plan | $118,430,663 | $118,430,663 | $118,430,663 | ||||
| 2021-22 plan | $118,673,306 | $118,673,778 | $118,673,778 | ||||
| 2022-23 plan | $118,673,619 | $118,673,619 | $118,673,619 | ||||
| Actual | $96,781,067 | $98,345,446 | $65,092,085 | $94,338,544 | $63,429,736 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
