To help businesses provide skill development, training
Prince Edward Island is launching a Workforce Development Fund to support private sector growth across the province. The fund will assist local businesses to grow by helping them provide skill development and training opportunities to employees, according to Minister of Innovation and Advanced Learning Allen Roach.
“A highly skilled workforce enables local businesses to expand their operating capabilities, creating new hiring opportunities and accelerating economic growth for our province,” he said.
The fund, a partnership between Skills PEI and Innovation PEI, is designed to support training solutions identified by private sector businesses or industry. The three components are:
Workforce learning: Meant for employees to develop or increase the skills they need to improve productivity and to be ready for changes that may be introduced in the business. The initiative supports projects that identify the skill requirements needed by the business, identify potential skill gaps that exist for employees and development of program training materials.
Workforce innovation: Provides funding for training programs that support new business practices and increase competitiveness. Companies, industry organizations and sector councils facing labour market challenges are eligible to apply. The initiative will also support strategies to meet current and future skill requirements. Training costs, certification process costs, employee wage subsidies while training, sector and occupational group analysis are eligible for assistance.
Workforce exposure: Supports job training and work experience that result in new skills and increased employability.
Priority will be given to proposals that invest in new skills, improved productivity and competitiveness, as well as introduce new business practices required in a knowledge-based economy, said the government.
Applications can be found at www.skillspei.com .
