Overview

The Skills Development Fund (SDF) Training Stream offers funding to organizations for innovative projects that address challenges to hiring, training, or retaining workers, including apprentices, to drive Ontario's economic growth.

The SDF Training Stream supports:

  • projects that address the labour shortage and stimulate growth in key sectors of Ontario’s economy
  • projects that will increase Ontario's long-term economic competitive advantage by creating a sustainable and resilient workforce
  • projects helping people with prior involvement in the criminal justice system, at-risk youth, those with disabilities, Ukrainian newcomers, and others facing barriers to employment

Skills Development Fund Capital stream

We developed a capital stream (also referred to as Bricks and Mortar Stream) to help build and upgrade new and existing training facilities.

Eligibility

Eligible organizations

The following organizations are eligible to apply to the SDF Training Stream:

  • employers in Ontario, other than the Educational Organizations listed below
  • minister-approved non-college apprenticeship training delivery agents (TDAs)
  • non-profit organizations, including Indigenous Band offices and Indigenous Skills and Employment Training agreement holders
  • professional/industry/employer associations
  • trade unions or union affiliated organizations
  • municipalities, District Social Services Administration Boards, Consolidated Municipal Service Managers, hospitals

The following organizations are eligible to apply to the SDF Training Stream as a co-applicant with one or more of the organizations above:

  • district school boards
  • publicly assisted colleges, universities or Indigenous Institutes in Ontario
  • private career colleges registered under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005

Read the application guideline for full details of the eligibility requirements.

Project requirements

Applications must show how the funding will:

  • help develop a resilient workforce by supporting access into the labour market
  • empower workers and job seekers who face higher barriers of entry and help them find work
  • encourage partnerships across the economy and support innovative ideas and training solutions to address the labour shortage

Apply for project funding

Apply now by submitting your application to Transfer Payment Ontario.

The intake period opened on August 25, 2023 and closes on December 4, 2023.

After you apply

Applications will be assessed based on transparent, consistent, and measurable evaluation criteria set out in the SDF Training Stream application guideline.

Successful applicants will be informed on a rolling basis.