Question Period Note: Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP)

The Government of Canada has committed in Budget 2022 to double the Union Training and Innovation Program (UTIP) funding to $84.2 million over four years.

Our Government recognizes the important role of unions in providing quality training to apprentices in Red Seal trades.

This is why we are investing an additional $84.2 million over the next four years to double funding for the Union Training and Innovation Program.

This investment will support union-based apprenticeship training, innovation and partnerships in the Red Seal trades.

Each year, the new funding will help 3,500 more apprentices from equity-deserving groups begin and succeed in careers in the skilled trades—including women, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, racialized communities, and newcomers.

Budget 2022 committed to providing $84.2 million over four years to double funding for the Union Training and Innovation Program. Each year, the new funding would help 3,500 apprentices from equity-deserving groups begin and succeed in careers in the skilled trades through mentorship, career services, and job-matching.

The program currently provides $25 million annually to support union-based apprenticeship training, innovation and enhanced partnerships in the Red Seal trades through two streams of funding:

Stream 1 (Investments in Training Equipment) provides unions with up to 50% of the costs of new, up-to-date equipment and materials that meet industry standards or investments in technology in the Red Seal trades.

Stream 2 (Innovation in Apprenticeship) provides support for innovative approaches and enhanced partnerships to address long-standing challenges limiting apprenticeship outcomes.

For both streams, priority is given to projects that target the participation and success of equity-deserving groups (e.g., women, Indigenous people, racialized communities, persons with disabilities, and newcomers); and involve partnerships with employers, community and non-profit groups, training providers, provinces and territories, Indigenous communities, and colleges.

In 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, 97 UTIP Stream 1 and 2 projects were approved for funding, valued at $69.3 million.

Under the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy - an overarching framework under which existing apprenticeship initiatives (including the UTIP) are delivered - a national Call for Proposals for UTIP Stream 1 (Investments in Training Equipment) was launched on August 31, 2022 and closed on October 12, 2022. Funded projects began in Q4 of fiscal year 2022-2023. A national Call for proposals for UTIP Stream 2 (Innovation in Apprenticeship) was launched on October 12, 2022 and closed on December 1, 2022. Funded projects are expected to begin in Q2 of 2023-2024.

Quebec organizations are not eligible to apply for funding through the UTIP. This is because unions in the province are not directly involved in apprenticeship training. In Quebec, in-school training is undertaken in the public school system prior to an individual registering with an employer as an apprentice. To account for this, UTIP is implemented in Quebec through a separate contribution agreement with the provincial government.

Unions serve as a primary delivery agent of training of apprentices and offer access to equipment and training centres that enable apprentices to access handson learning opportunities to practice their skills prior to working on site. An estimated one in three workers in Red Seal trades (33%) is a union member.

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