Backgrounder: Canada Retraining and Opportunities Initiative

The new Canada Retraining and Opportunities Initiative provides supplemental support to organizations to respond to exceptional situations of mass layoffs that significantly impact their communities, to help workers transition to new jobs.

A mass layoff is defined by:

• 50 or more employees permanently laid off in one establishment, in one community during a four-week period;
• significant job loss impact (as a proportion of the community’s labour force); and
• challenging local labour market conditions, making it difficult for affected workers to transition to new jobs.

Objectives

The objectives of this initiative are to:   

• bring together community-based organizations, employers, training providers and others to develop a community workforce plan that identifies impacted workers, local employers looking to hire, and the skills required to meet demand. 
• help workers develop the skills needed to transition to new jobs through training and work experiences; and 
• support employers to fill jobs in demand. 
   

Application Process

Eligible organizations can apply through a two-phased process.

An expression of interest phase: Only organizations that meet the criteria in this phase will be invited to submit an application.

An application phase: The Department will assess other criteria at the application phase. An invitation to apply does not guarantee success.

Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis until funding has been fully committed.