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·	From Theory To Practice

Employment Benefits

• Targeted Wage Subsidies (TWS): The objective of Targeted Wage Subsidies is to help workers who have been unemployed for a long time, are at risk of long-term unemployment, lack experience, or face other employment barriers to find a job and gain work experience. Aid is provided through a temporary wage subsidy for eligible employers, and acts as an employer incentive to help defray the costs associated with employment orientation. The wage subsidy cannot be used for longer than 78 weeks and should not exceed 60 percent of the total wages paid to an employee. The subsidy can, however, vary (e.g., 75 percent of wages for the first 26 weeks, zero percent the next 26 weeks, and 40 percent during the final 26 weeks). The average duration of the subsidy is between 26 and 30 weeks.
• Self-Employment: The objective of this initiative is to help unemployed individuals who have sound business plans create jobs for themselves and others. Partner agencies help clients develop business plans, offer advice, and may direct them to other support services. Clients of this benefit continue to receive Employment Insurance (EI) benefits for up to 52 weeks; persons with disabilities can obtain an additional 26 weeks of benefits if their disability prevents them from making the business sustainable in one year. Childcare and other personal expenses may also be covered.
• Job Creation Partnerships (JCP): The objective of Job Creation Partnerships is to create meaningful work experience opportunities through temporary jobs. This is accomplished by providing wage subsidies to eligible employers in order to assist in the establishment of permanent employment. Employers and delivery agents combine to create the jobs, with the delivery agent contributing up to 100 percent of the remuneration (the EI benefit). The employer tops up the benefit to the going wage rate and is required to track and report client results. Benefits can also cover childcare, transportation, or expenses resulting from a disability. The maximum duration of a project is 52 weeks.
• Purchase of Training (Sunset Clause, June 30, 1999): The objective of this benefit is to encourage the unemployed to acquire skills through education and training, so that they might end dependence on EI benefits and enter employment. Among the components of Purchase of Training are government-to-government purchases of training places, direct purchases of training, co-ordinating group purchases under a contribution agreement, and project-based training by community partners to provide work experience and training. Participation is based on the local Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) office's assessment of the prospects for re-employment which the training will create. Subsequent to the 1995 EI Act, Human Resources Development Canada phased out of the direct purchase of education and training programs, training allowances, and "feepayer" arrangements previously funded under the Unemployment Insurance and National Training Acts. Consequently, this benefit was replaced by Skills Development as of June 30, 1999.
• Skills Development (SD): This program provides negotiated financial support to assist eligible EI clients to purchase training or education leading to employment. Funding is through a mix of client contributions, repayable contributions and grants. The program is client driven as opposed to institutionally driven. Enhanced Feepayers is the precursor to Skills Development, introduced on an interim basis to accommodate the elimination of the extension of the Insurance Benefit for claimants paying tuition fees. Under the Enhanced Feepayers activity, EI claimants pay their own tuition fees but obtain financial assistance beyond regular EI income benefits while they are being trained.³⁸ Skills Development replaced Purchase of Training and Enhanced Feepayers in July 1999.

Support Measures

• Employment Assistance Services (EAS): This local delivery program provides incentives to third party sponsors (organizations and community groups) to help unemployed individuals obtain and maintain employment. The Canadian Mental Health Association, the PEI Council of the Disabled and Tremploy are three of the principal participating organizations. Examples of the types of activities typically covered under EAS include providing labour market information, individualized counselling, job-search groups, referral services, general awareness/education activities (e.g., such as awareness of labour exchange services), marketing of clients, encouraging volunteer work, and recommending various employment benefits. In the case of the latter, the third-party organization arranges access to the benefits, while the delivery agent signs agreements with clients and other parties. Sponsor agreements do not exceed 52 weeks, but can be renewed if the project is successful.
• Local Labour Market Partnerships (LLMP): Under this joint national-local delivery support measure, Human Resource Centres of Canada and other delivery agents may form partnerships with the provincial or municipal government, regional offices, clients or other organizations to help persons return to work locally. The objective of this component is to encourage communities to take responsibility for their own employment-related needs, by building on local strengths and existing infrastructure. Through the development of relationships between community organizations, complementary human resource and economic strategies can be advanced through community projects that will create employment. Projects which are supported, include partnership and leadership development, communications and promotion. Partnership agreements do not exceed three years, and may be combined with a Job Creation Project.
• Research and Innovation: This federal measure considers national-level projects that, among other objectives, target applied research with the potential for large-scale distribution. Activities and experimentation are initiated by HRDC national headquarters and conducted to address labour market development, policy, and design issues.

Footnotes

38	Provincial/Territorial Labour Market Program Inventory: Employability, Training and Income Security, Prince Edward Island 1997/1998.