Improve federal support for worker training
In addition to improving EI eligibility requirements and benefit periods, the federal government needs to make changes to how it supports worker training programs. Under the current system, Ontario is not receiving its fair share of federal funding for worker training.
3 Key Points
The federal formula that determines EI training funding for provinces and territories doesn’t treat Ontario fairly. Currently, the province receives only about 30 per cent of EI funding for training, even though unemployed Ontarians represent about 42 per cent of Canada’s unemployed. The formula is complicated and based on old data from the early 1990s. It doesn’t reflect Ontario’s current share of national unemployment or even Ontario’s share of Canada’s population. It needs to change.
Change the total funds allocated
Federal legislation has capped the amount the federal government can spend each year on EI training programs and services at 0.8 per cent of the total employment income on which EI premiums are paid. That’s approximately $3.5 billion per year. However, in 2007, the federal government spent only $2.1 billion on EI training. The federal government is under spending by roughly $1.4 billion annually. Ontario and other provinces want the federal government to spend the full amount. It will help unemployed workers get the training they need to find jobs.
Federal legislation requires that provincial training programs mirror current federal programs through the “test of similarity.” This limits Ontario’s ability to develop initiatives that make better use of our resources. For example, the EI requirement that trainees be paid directly doesn’t let the province buy a block of training seats from educational institutions to provide affordable high quality training for the unemployed. Eliminate these constraints and Ontario will have the freedom to design training programs more responsive to local needs.
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