Financial Incentives and Grants

The KEYS Employer Services Team can help employers to access funding to assist in growing your business by recruiting and hiring talent. We can help employers to find the skilled workers they need, while assisting job seekers to gain job skills and experience.

Employers can receive incentives to help cover the cost of wages and training for new hires when they provide a job placement of various durations (usually 12 - 20 weeks).

To be eligible for training incentive funding, an employer must:

• Be licensed to operate in Ontario
• Be compliant with legislation (health and safety, employment standards, etc.)
• Provide job placements of four to six months in Ontario, and be covered by safety insurance
• Provide job placements that do not displace current or laid-off employees.

Employers can receive thousands of dollars to offset training and wage costs linked with a job placement. **

Incentives are intended to support on-the-job training and to offset the risk of hiring new employees with less experience. Incentives are flexible and there is no set formula for whether funding is used for training and/or for wages. The job placements you provide will be assessed for the quality of the placement opportunity, your previous track record, potential for employee retention after the placement ends, and level of employer financial contribution.

Training will focus on general skills and may lead to certification or a credential. Training can be provided by the employer, or by trainers outside of the workplace. ** This is a negotiated amount based on the average length of required training for the position and the skills the new hire brings with them to the position

Give a young person an opportunity to help grow your business. Ask about our youth employment programs: Youth Job Connection and JobStart.

Interested in hiring a recent post-secondary graduate? Career START or the Next Horizon program can help!

For many organizations, the decision to hire a recent graduate can be very difficult. Yet, bringing on a newly educated and willing to-learn employee can build capacity within the team, and help you meet your business goals. Often the cost of a new salaries, and training an inexperienced worker can be an obstacle to both employers and potential hires.

Career START helps eliminate the cost barrier by subsidizing the salaries of new graduates! Complete and submit the application found at the bottom of this page or contact us today.

The Next Horizon program connects local employers with recent post-secondary graduates with gloabl experience. Qualified candidates are pre-screened by KEYS and employers can hire talent with a global perspective and Canadian education. 

Find out more about our Employer Services:

• Recruitment Services
• Training
• Apprenticeship Incentives
• Canada-Ontario Job Grant