Overview

The Governments of Canada and Ontario are collaborating through the Canada–Ontario Workforce Tariff Response initiative to support Ontario’s labour market by reinforcing sectors impacted by trade disruptions, tariffs, and other global market shifts. Ontario’s Skills Advance Ontario (SAO) program, a sector-based workforce development initiative that funds strategic partnerships between employers and employment and training service providers, will be one of the delivery mechanisms for this initiative and is jointly funded by the Governments of Canada and Ontario.

SAO supports jobseekers and incumbent workers in pursuing meaningful career pathways by offering employment and training services that span entry-level through medium- and high-skilled roles. The program helps employers access and retain a skilled, adaptable workforce to meet evolving labour demands, while enabling individuals to upskill, reskill, and advance within high-potential sectors.

Logos of Government of Canada and Government of Ontario

Program objectives

SAO is intended to:

  • support target sector workforce sustainability, resilience and development by funding partnerships that connect employers with the employment and training services they require for their workers
  • help employers access and retain a skilled and adaptable workforce to meet evolving labour demands
  • enable jobseekers and workers affected by trade disruptions, tariffs and evolving global economic uncertainty, to upskill, reskill, and advance
  • support jobseekers and workers to pursue meaningful career pathways spanning entry-level through medium and high-skilled roles by helping them gain essential, technical and employability skills
  • support workers to obtain or retain employment by providing them with sector-specific employment and training services
  • support training opportunities for workers on reduced hours
  • connect jobseekers to employers with identified job vacancies, or advancement opportunities if they are already employed

Eligibility requirements for transfer payment recipients

The program accepts applications from two types of lead applicants — employers and service providers. The lead applicant will be the transfer payment recipient and may partner with other eligible organizations to design and deliver the project.

Applicants must fall under one of the following categories to apply under the employer-led stream or service provider-led stream.

Employer-led stream

Employers are eligible transfer payment recipients in any one of the following cases:

  • they are on active EI Work-Sharing agreements
  • they have new or incumbent employees requiring upskilling or reskilling training that could help prevent job losses
  • they have workforce development needs in high-potential sectors

Successful employer transfer payment recipients must work with an educational institution or other organization equipped to deliver the required training under the program. For the purposes of this program, educational institutions include:

  • publicly funded post-secondary institutions
  • career colleges that are registered under and in compliance with the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2025
  • school boards
  • Indigenous Institutes

Service provider-led stream

To receive transfer payments under this stream, your organization must be:

  • an employment and training service provider
  • another organization that designs, manages, delivers or coordinates employment and training services and programs, supported by government funding

Eligible organizations include:

  • not-for-profit organization or social agency in Ontario, including Indigenous band offices and Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) agreement holders
  • municipality or District Social Services Administration Board (DSSAB)
  • Consolidated Municipal Service Manager (CMSM)
  • trade union or union-affiliated organization
  • professional / industry / sector associations
  • local / regional Chambers of Commerce or Board of Trade
  • publicly assisted college, university or Indigenous Institute in Ontario
  • career college registered under and in compliance with the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005
  • District School Board

Other applicant eligibility criteria

In addition to meeting the requirements for the employer-led stream or the service provider-led stream, SAO applicants must:

  • be a legal entity
  • be authorized to operate or carry on business in the province of Ontario
  • have a physical location and be actively operating or carrying on business in the province of Ontario at that physical location;
  • comply with all legislation applicable to the applicant and its operations or business, including the Human Rights Code, the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA), and the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021 (BOSTA)
  • maintain and declare appropriate Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) or private disability insurance coverage, as applicable, to cover the cost of work-related injuries/occupational diseases, as well as adequate third-party general liability insurance as advised by its insurance broker

Ineligible transfer payment recipients

The following organizations are not eligible to receive transfer payments:

  • private consultants
  • consultant lobbyists
  • any organization that is not a valid legal entity

Employer requirements

Employers who participate in SAO-funded projects, as a transfer payment recipient or as a partner, must:

  • operate in the identified sector or share identified workforce needs in a tariff-impacted or high potential sector
  • have identified job vacancies and/or advancement or retention opportunities in Ontario consistent with the workforce development needs to be addressed by the SAO transfer payment agreement
  • be registered and licensed to operate in Ontario
  • have a physical presence in Ontario
  • not use SAO supports to replace existing or laid-off employees
  • meet any additional requirements as outlined in the SAO Guidelines
  • comply with all applicable legislation, including federal and provincial human rights legislation, regulations, and any other relevant standards, as well as the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and the Employment Standards Act (ESA)
  • maintain and declare appropriate Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) or private disability insurance coverage, as applicable, to cover the cost of work-related injuries/occupational diseases, as well as adequate third-party general liability insurance as advised by its insurance broker

Participant requirements

Job seekers and workers who obtain or retain employment through SAO programs must meet the following requirements:

  • be at least 18 years old at the time of registration
  • be a resident of Ontario
  • be legally entitled to work in Canada and
  • an individual on EI, on an EI Work-Sharing agreement, or employed with a company that is directly or indirectly affected by tariffs and global market shifts. (non-EI eligible workers may also qualify to participate on an exceptional basis)
  • an individual on EI who is looking to train or retrain in a high-potential sector (non-EI eligible workers may also qualify to participate on an exceptional basis)
  • meet the additional sector or workplace-specific requirements that may apply to each project or workplace (such as drug screening, criminal background checks, testing for manual dexterity or strength, technical skillsets)
  • fulfill any additional requirements deemed appropriate by the ministry

They must not be:

  • participating in any full-time education or occupational training, as defined by the institution where the worker is enrolled
  • participating in any other government-funded training intervention that offers support of the same tuition / training fees, training materials, or other related costs
  • employed in a senior management or executive position or have a controlling interest in the business

Financial supports are available to eligible job seekers – see section 3.3.5 of the application guidelines for details.

How to apply

SAO application intake opened on February 27, 2026, and operates on a continuous intake basis. There is no set deadline to apply. Applications will be received until all program funds are allocated.

You can submit your application to Transfer Payment Ontario. Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis.

To access the Skills Advance Ontario application:

  1. Create a My Ontario Account with Transfer Payment Ontario
  2. Register your organization with Transfer Payment Ontario
  3. Transfer Payment Ontario will email you when it reviews and approves your registration request

If your organization has an existing My Ontario Account, you will need to proceed by selecting “Join an Existing Organization” on the Transfer Payment Ontario website.

For more details, see “Application Procedure and Process” in the applicable program application guideline.

After you apply

Applications will be assessed based on transparent, consistent, and measurable evaluation criteria set out in the guidelines.

All applicants will be notified whether their application is successful or unsuccessful.

Contact us

For questions about the Skills Advance Ontario program, email us at skillsadvanceontario@ontario.ca.

For technical help with the TPON application system, contact TPON Client Care from Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except for government and statutory holidays, by:

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