Employer Funding and Support

General Business Supports

Manitoba Sector Councils support businesses in Manitoba to develop and deliver workforce training for new and existing employees to support business growth and prosperity.

The World Trade Centre provides helpful information and tools for entrepreneurs and small business owners in Manitoba.

The Western Canada Business Services Network (WCBSN) is a network of organizations providing support to entrepreneurs in Western Canada.

10 Ways Employers Can Address Their Talent Needs showcases 10 ways employers can partner with career development professionals to meet their talent needs.

Workforce Training and Employment (WTE) delivers employment services to individual employers and through partnerships with community, industry and employer groups.

Retain and Gain – Small Business [PDF] has 40 plus low-cost tips, activities and actions that small business can take to attract, engage and retain staff.

Retain and Gain – Not for profit [PDF] – identifies 40 plus low-cost tips, activities and actions that non-profits can take to attract, engage and retain staff.

Training Grants

The Canada-Manitoba Job Grant provides eligible employers with up to $10,000 per employee to assist with training costs delivered by a third party.

Manitoba Go provides a listing of government of Manitoba grants and bursaries for education and training and other business development funding.

ECE Tuition Reimbursement A reimbursement of up to $5,000 per school-year is available to help cover the tuition-related costs of recognized early childhood education (ECE) programs offered at post-secondary institutions in Manitoba that lead to an ECE II or ECE III certification in Manitoba.

Digital Supercluster Capacity Building Program supports Canadian businesses by co-investing in projects that help Canadians develop the skills, leadership and opportunities needed to grow innovative digital enterprises.

Training Resources

ABC Literacy touches on all areas of literacy, from family and workplace literacy to financial and digital literacy.

EDGE INC offers computer training to adults in basic computer skills to employment specific software.

Courersa offers an unlimited access subscription to audit  over 7,000 courses.

LinkedIn Learning offers training on in demand skills with 16,000 plus courses taught by professionals. Courses are free for one month or with a Winnipeg Library card.

Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology can support your professional development, marketing and hiring needs.

Workplace Education Manitoba (WEM) – Provides flexible training and assessment responses across each region of Manitoba, Training is in person, online, or a mix with a focus on essential skills and knowledge.

Full-time Hire Wage Subsidies

Apprenticeship Services Program Employers can receive $5,000 when hiring a first-year apprentice; or $10,000 when hiring a self-identified equity deserving first-year apprentice.

The Science Horizons Program provides training and funding for young professionals with post-secondary education to transition or gain experience in the environmental sector, focusing mainly on STEM. Eligible employers can receive up to 80% wage coverage up to $25,000 of a candidate’s salary for placement in a new full-time 6 to 12 month position.

The Environmental Jobs Growth Program welcomes any job seeker looking to enter or advance their careers in the clean economy. Eligible employers can receive up to $18,750 of a candidate's salary for placement in a new or vacant full or part-time 6 to 12-month position.

The Nature-Based Climate Solutions program provides training and funding for workers moving into roles in habitat restoration, watershed restoration, well reclamation and regenerative agriculture. Eligible employers can receive $4,500 wage subsidy for a 3-month placement full-time or part-time placement.

The Youth in Natural Resources Program provides training and funding for young professionals to help them transition into the workforce and gain experience in the natural resources sector.

The Environmental Employability Pathways program aims to help all youth (age 15 to 30) navigate the labour market and help them find a permanent position. Eligible small and medium-sized businesses receive 50% wage coverage up to $12,000 of a participant’s salary for a placement in a new full or part-time position.

Mitacs Accelerate pairs businesses with Masters, PhD, and PDF interns to overcome innovation challenges. Interns complete research and develop tools, models, technology, or solutions to support the host business’ challenges.

The Youth Employment Program offers financial assistance to offset the cost of hiring young talent to work on projects with R&D, engineering, multimedia or market analysis components or to help develop a new product or process.

The UM Arts Career Apprenticeship Program connects new graduates from arts humanities and social science disciplines with employers within Winnipeg. Businesses and organizations will have the opportunity to work with qualified and employment-ready new graduate, and will receive a grant for four months’ salary.

The Science & Technology Internship Program (STIP) - provides funding to eligible employers across Canada to hire, train, and mentor youth in the natural resources sector, including in energy, forestry, mining, earth science, and clean technology. Up to 75% in wage subsidies are available for employers.

The Young Canada Works Program offers eligible employers wage subsidies and access to a pool of talented youth with innovative ideas and competitive skills. Subsidies to eligible employers enable the creation of job opportunities in the fields of heritage, arts, culture and official languages.

WorkStart Work Experience Program. WorkStart is a unique work experience program that taps the skills of newcomer youth, professionals and provides up to 8 weeks of paid work experience at no financial cost to the employer.

Operating Loans and Grants

The Canada Small Business Financing Program helps Canadian small businesses secure loans. This program is offered through Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada and interested businesses can apply directly through their Canadian financial institution of choice.

Manitoba Go provides a listing of government of Manitoba grants and bursaries for education and training and other business development funding.

Community Futures provides local business development support for entrepreneurs and small business owners across Manitoba. Free business development training and expansion loans.

The Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba is a resource for women looking to start or expand their business. In addition to business advising, training and financing specific programming has been developed to assist women at all business stages.

The Hospitality Relief Sector Program will provide funding to hotels and full-time licensed resource tourism operators for fixed costs that have not been covered by other relief programs such as property insurance, mortgage interest, property taxes, land leases, service fees, maintenance of camps, and resource retention costs. Grants will be provided as a reimbursement for a percentage of eligible expenses incurred.

The Workforce Development Program assists companies to assess human resource (HR) management needs and develop and implement HR and workforce training and development plans. Assistance provided may be one or more of the following: direct service delivery, brokering relevant internal and external resources and/or funding support for training and HR development activities.

The AgriDiversity program is a stream of funding provided through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP) | Mentor Works a 5-year framework to support Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector.

The National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) provides advice, connections, and funding to help Canadian small and medium-sized businesses increase their innovation capacity and take ideas to market.

The DELIA Micro Loan Program by NCFDC is a funding initiative that is designed to act as a revolving and evergreen microloan fund for all Canadian Women entrepreneurs in need of funding support for start up, stabilizations and expansion. DELIA stands for Develop, Educate, Lead, Innovate and Accelerate.

The Regional Innovation Ecosystems (RIE) inn the Prairie Provinces targets investments in not-for profit organizations that support businesses in priority sectors to innovate, grow and compete globally.

The Museums Assistance Program (MAP) offers support to workers, collections, skills, and more for museums, heritage institutions, and Indigenous communities through six components, including: Reopening Fund for Heritage Organizations, Access to Heritage, Indigenous Heritage, and more.

The Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba is a resource for women looking to start or expand their business. In addition to business advising, training and financing specific programming has been developed to assist women at all business stages.

Newcomer Grant Funding

The Environmental Foreign Talent Development Program is meant to help newcomers to Canada find work that matches their experience from abroad. Eligible employers can receive 75% wage coverage up to $15,000 of a participant’s salary for full-time placements of 3 to 6 months.

The Manitoba Careers for Internationally Educated Professionals (IEPs) Program supports internationally educated professionals towards their goal of working in their professional field in Manitoba. It provides non-repayable financial assistance to help IEPs with assessment and training costs while pursuing registration in one of Manitoba’s 28 non-nursing self-regulated professions.

Summer, Co-op Grants and Other Student Funding

The Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program is a Canadian government grant that offers support for employers providing supervised career-related work experience for youth employees.

The Student Work Placement program partners with post-secondary institutions and aims to help students find work placements within their field of study. Eligible employers can Up to $5,000 for every student hired through the program and up to $7,000 for every student you hire that is in their first year or is from an under-represented group including: women in STEM, persons with disabilities, newcomers, Indigenous students and visible minorities.

The SSHRC’s Research Training and Talent Development program goal  is to support students and postdoctoral researchers to develop the next generation of researchers and leaders across society, within academia and across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

The Young Canada Works Program offers eligible employers wage subsidies and access to a pool of talented youth with innovative ideas and competitive skills. Subsidies to eligible employers enable the creation of job opportunities in the fields of heritage, arts, culture and official languages.

The First Nation and Inuit Youth Employment Strategy supports initiatives to help First Nations and Inuit youth acquire skills, prepare for full-time employment and earn income to support post-secondary education, through summer work experiences.

The Science & Technology Internship Program (STIP) - Green Jobs provides funding to eligible employers across Canada to hire, train, and mentor youth in the natural resources sector, including in energy, forestry, mining, earth science, and clean technology. Up to 75% in wage subsidies are available for employers.

Additional lists of other Funding and Supports

canada.ca/en/services/business/hire/wagesubsidiesotherassistanceprograms.html

assiniboine.net/community/employers/co-op-work-placements/funding-supports-employers

umanitoba.ca/career-services/wage-subsidies-employers.