Overview

Micro-credentials are rapid training programs offered by postsecondary education institutions across the province that can help you get the skills that employers need. Micro-credentials help people retrain and upgrade their skills to find new employment.

About micro-credentials

Micro-credentials:

  • take less time to complete than degrees or diplomas
  • may be completed online and may include on-the-job training
  • are often created with input from business sectors, so the skills being taught match employer needs

Apply now

The micro-credentials portal is a starting point to explore the hundreds of micro-credentials available in Ontario, with more being added regularly.

This resource is part of Ontario’s Micro-credentials Strategy, helping learners access more opportunities to train or upskill for in-demand jobs.

Loans and grants are also available to eligible learners to rapidly upskill and reskill for in-demand jobs. Hundreds of micro-credentials are approved for financial assistance through the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), with more to come.

You can also check your local postsecondary education institution’s website to see more information about the micro-credentials they offer.

How to enrol

Once you have selected a micro-credential you’d like to take, register with the school directly. If the micro-credential is OSAP-approved, you can then apply for financial assistance through OSAP for Micro-credentials.

Log-in to your OSAP account to apply for funding for micro-credentials.

Ontario Micro-credentials Challenge Fund

Background

Announced in April 2021, Ontario provided $15 million through the Ontario Micro-credentials Challenge Fund Round 1 to accelerate the development of micro-credentials and expand program offerings. After a successful call for proposals, Ontario approved over 65 projects at colleges, universities, Indigenous Institutes and career colleges across the province, creating over 300 new micro-credentials to support approximately 6,000 learners.

Round 2

Ontario is providing $5 million through the Ontario Micro-credentials Challenge Fund Round 2 to support the co-creation or expansion of micro-credentials to help address Ontario’s labour market gaps.

Ontario has allocated funding to 36 postsecondary institutions that are working with local industry and employers to develop new or to expand existing micro-credentials focused on Ontario’s priority labour market sectors.

About the fund

The Challenge Fund Round 2 will expand the number and types of micro-credentials available in the province that help to address Ontario’s labour market gaps. These micro-credentials will increase collaboration between the private and public sectors through formal partnerships among postsecondary institutions, training providers and employers.

The micro-credentials developed from this fund will focus on training that is:

  • employer responsive and leads directly to local/regional jobs
  • designed to fill labour market gaps in priority sectors , for example:
    • health care
    • advanced manufacturing
    • electric vehicles
    • critical minerals
    • mental health services/accessibility
    • housing

The funding was available to:

Funding recipients

A total of 88 projects are receiving funding in 2024–25:

Brock University

  • Supervisory Skills in Advanced Manufacturing

Canadian College of Healthcare and Pharmaceutics

  • Wound Care and Management for Healthcare Professionals
  • Intravenous Therapy for Health Professionals
  • Mental Health-Suicide Crisis Responder
  • Health Data Analytics for Health Professionals
  • Cybersecurity (Medical Device) Project Management for Healthcare Professionals

Canadore College

  • Digital Health Skills
  • The Business of Broadband – Beyond Borders

Carleton University

  • Climate Change and Youth Mental Health

Centennial College

  • Process Development and Scientific Molding in Injection Molding
  • Fundamentals in Design & Virtual Commissioning for NX
  • Electrical Utility Control Centres (System Control)
  • Electrical Utility Distribution Stations (Monitor and Maintain)
  • Hybrid Electric Vehicle Program (Maintenance and Repair)

Collège Boréal

  • Sensibilisation aux besoins particuliers dans le domaine de l’éducation de la petite enfance
  • Battery Electric Vehicle Automotive

Collège La Cité

  • Approche intégrée et culturellement adaptée en santé mentale / Intervention en santé mentale en milieu scolaire

Conestoga College

  • Manufacturing Leadership

Confederation College

  • Surveyor Assistant Theory

CRD College of Health Care

  • Pathway to Health Care Jobs – Care Support Aide/Developmental Disability Support Assistant
  • Transforming from Developmental Disability Support Assistant to Developmental Services Worker
  • Transforming from Care Support Aide to Certified Personal Support Worker

Evergreen College

  • Primary Care Clinical Assistant for Seniors

Fanshawe College

  • Manufacturing Fundamentals Part 1
  • Manufacturing Fundamentals Part 2

First Nations Technical Institute (FNTI)

  • Introduction to Indigenous Worldviews
  • Meaning of Treaties, Agreements, and Land Claims
  • Truth and Reconciliation
  • Healing from an Indigenous Foundation
  • Safety in Practice

Fleming College

  • Introduction to Biomanufacturing
  • Embedded Systems Design 1
  • Embedded Systems Design 2
  • Embedded Systems Design 3
  • Indigenous Perspectives in Economic Development

George Brown College

  • Housing Maintenance and Construction
  • Infectious Disease Control

Georgian College

  • Industrial and Construction Controls Micro-certificate
  • Hydrogen 101

IBT College

  • Hospitality Micro-credentials Leading to a Hospitality Management Diploma using Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Lakehead University

  • Specialized Skills for Northern, Rural, and Remote Health: Perinatal Healthcare, Health Leadership, Mental Health and Addictions
  • Risk Management for Indigenous Land-Based Practitioners
  • Archaeological Monitoring and Mapping for Indigenous Communities (AMMIC) Program
  • Health Information Management

Lambton College

  • Improving Access to Staffing through a Standardized HR Orientation Training and Digital Passport System for SW Ontario Developmental Services Agencies
  • Gap Training to Support Ontario’s Advanced Biomanufacturing Sector

Laurentian University

  • Urban Aging and Inclusive Design Practitioner
  • Music in Northern Care
  • Applied Behaviour Reduction Techniques

Loyalist College

  • Land Surveying Techniques
  • Child Protection Worker Authorization
  • Getting Ready for the Trades
  • Trauma-Informed and Mindfulness Practitioner
  • Facilities Supervisor

McMaster University

  • Leadership in Bioinnovation
  • Digital Decode: Bridging the Digital Marketing Skills Gap in Today’s Connected World
  • Generative AI for Knowledge Workers
  • Foundational Competencies and Tools for Equity-Based Co-Creation
  • Nuclear Safety and Technology

Mohawk College

  • City School Community Learning Alliance: From Employment Precarity to Workforce Integration
  • Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) Upskilling for Electricians

Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM)

  • Local and Traditional Food Handler Training and Certification
  • Clinical Teaching for Health Care Professionals (CT-HCP)
  • Artificial Intelligence for Health System Transformation

Ontario Tech University

  • Digital Technology Use and Competence within Health Care and Industry 4.0

Oshki-Pimache-O-Win: The Wenjack Education Institute

  • Revitalizing the Role of the Community Health Representative

Pharma-Medical Science College of Canada

  • Health Professional Career Development

Sault College

  • Business Analytics: Content Creation Using AI
  • Business Analytics: Business Analysis Fundamentals
  • Business Analytics: Microsoft Power BI Fundamentals
  • Business Analytics: Data Analysis Using Power BI
  • Business Analytics: Business Analysis Using Excel

Seneca Polytechnic

  • Supporting Labour Market Demand and Job Continuity in the Behaviour Technician Field

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)

  • Clinical Teaching Skills for Academic Clinicians

Trent University

  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Training for Healthcare Professionals

Université de Hearst

  • Initiation à la gestion de petites entreprises pour les personnes professionnelles de la santé

University of Guelph

  • Companion Animal Primary Care
  • Effective Veterinary Teams
  • Veterinary Healthcare Delivery to Underserviced Communities
  • Equine Primary Care

University of Ottawa

  • Creation of French Language Health Care Management Micro-credentials
  • Managing Innovation and Change in Health Care
  • Managing Performance in Health Care
  • Financial Management in Health Care

Victoria International College of Business & Technology

  • Artificial Intelligence Programing

York University

  • Upskilling for Co-Op: Preparing for the Workplace
  • Vaccine Production and Quality Assurance
  • Breaking Down Barriers: Understanding and Addressing Racism in Canada

For more information about the Challenge Fund, contact psepolicy@ontario.ca.

Progress on our plan

Since 2020, we’ve announced investments of over $60 million  to support the province’s Micro-credentials Strategy.

So far, we have:

  • created an online portal to access micro-credential training opportunities
  • supported the creation of over 300 new micro-credentials in response to regional labour market needs through the Micro-credentials Challenge Fund Round 1
  • strengthened partnerships between postsecondary institutions, training providers and employers
  • promoted micro-credentials among learners and employers
  • supported students with financial need to pay for education geared to in-demand jobs, through OSAP
  • piloted a virtual passport that allows a learner to track, store and share their learning experience

Pilot programs

eCampusOntario

In 2019, we funded micro-credential pilots through our partner organization eCampusOntario.

eCampusOntario is a provincially funded centre of excellence and global leader in technology-enabled teaching and learning. They lead a consortium of publicly funded colleges, universities and Indigenous Institutes in Ontario to support digital transformation and encourage innovation, collaboration and partnerships to connect Ontario’s campuses to the future of learning. With funding from the government of Ontario, eCampusOntario has facilitated 36 pilots at Ontario colleges and universities.

Learn more about these pilot programs at eCampusOntario.

We will update this page as we continue to develop and expand micro-credentials.