From the Service Canada website:
Skills Development (SD) is an employment program of Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) that provides financial assistance to eligible individuals to help them obtain the skills training they need to obtain employment.
If you reside in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, NWT, Nunavut, and British Columbia, you may contact your own Provincial or Territories Department responsible for LMDAs and apply for programs similar to the Employment Benefits and Support Measures (EBSM).
Program Information
Program objective
Skills Development (SD) provides funding to eligible individuals who require skills training to secure employment. With the financial assistance provided by Skills Development (SD), individuals arrange and pay for their own training.
Eligibility
Am I eligible for participation in Skills Development (SD)?
- To be eligible for participation in Skills Development (SD), you must be an unemployed individual ("insured participant") as defined by Section 58 of the Employment Insurance Act. This means that you are an individual for whom:
a) an unemployment benefit period has been established or has ended within the 36 months (3 years) prior to the date of requesting assistance; or
b) a benefit period that included a maternity or parental claim has been established within the 60 months (5 years) prior to the date of requesting assistance, after which you remained out of the labour market in order to care for a newborn or newly adopted child and are now seeking to re-enter the labour force.
- Other criteria may apply.
What else do I need to know?
- The date your completed application is received by Service Canada is the date when you are considered to have requested assistance. This date is used to determine whether you qualify as an "insured participant" within the timeframes outlined above.
- If you are currently receiving Employment Insurance, you may continue to receive your regular Employment Insurance benefits until the end of your benefit period, after which you may be eligible to receive a living allowance to the end of your Skills Development (SD) agreement.
- If you are not in receipt of Employment Insurance benefits, you may be eligible to receive financial assistance for living expenses.
- Temporary financial assistance may be provided in exceptional circumstances to cover all or part of the following costs related to participation (dependant care, tuition, books, disability needs, transportation and accommodation).
- Individuals who participate in Skills Development (SD) are normally required to make a financial contribution towards the cost of their training.
- Your application must be approved by Service Canada before you begin your training.
- Service Canada's agreement with an individual can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to three years depending on Service Canada's local business plan and the participant's Return to Work Action Plan.
Location
