Objectives:

• To provide an employment opportunity for an unemployed participant who requires assistance to overcome existing or anticipated labour market barriers. This opportunity may lead to continued employment with the sponsor.
• To provide a wage subsidy, employment related costs and related training dollars for an unemployed participant.
• Sponsors will endeavor to hire participant upon project completion.

Eligible Employers:
Aboriginal Bands/Tribal Councils;

Not-for-profit employers; (less than 100 employees)

    * Aboriginal & non-aboriginal companies (sole proprietors, partnerships);
    * Aboriginal & non-aboriginal corporations without share capital;
    * Churches and religious organizations;
    * Community groups, charitable and voluntary organizations;
    * Associations of workers and employers, professional and industrial organizations;
    * Boards of Trade and Chambers of Commerce;
    * Ad hoc groups;
    * Public health and public educational institutions;
    * Municipal governments;

For-profit employers; (less than 100 employees)

    * Aboriginal companies & non-aboriginal (sole proprietors, partnerships);
    * Aboriginal & non-aboriginal corporations with share capital;
    * Self-employed aboriginal persons;
    * Federal corporations;
    * Provincial corporations;
    * Cooperatives;
    * Private health and private education institutions.

Eligible Participants:

• Must be aboriginal;
• Must be of working age;
• Long term unemployed (3 months or more);
• No longer required by law to attend school;
• Participant receiving employment insurance (EI) benefits or had a claim approved in the last 3-5 years
• Participant may have marketable skills but lack work experience in area in which the work experience and/or training will occur.

Activities, Duration, & Cost:
Activities:

• Projects should provide skills to assist the participant in removing employment barriers.
• Activities should prepare participants for gainful employment with the sponsor.
• Projects may be full-time or a minimum of 30 hours per week.
• On-the-job and/or off-the-job training are encouraged.

Duration:   Negotiable. maximum of 52 weeks.

Eligible Costs:  the following are eligible costs, subject to negotiation:

• Participant wages - subject to job description and skill set.
• Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs): Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Employment Insurance (EI), Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) rate, and holiday pay.
• Training costs (includes training costs, textbooks, instructional material);
• Special costs are negotiable for participants with disabilities.
• It is expected sponsor will provide top-up wages and their portion of the mandatory employment related costs (MERCs) as part of the sponsor contribution.

Approval and Application Process: Approval Process:

• Program Officer reviews proposal content and poses assessment questions to sponsor.
• Projects under $50,000 are reviewed and approved internally.
• Projects $50,000 and over are reviewed internally and then approved by FVAHRD Steering Committee who meet on a quarterly basis.

Application Process:

    * It takes a minimum of four (4) weeks to assess a proposal, depending on complexity and Program Officer workload.
    * The following documents are required:

1. Completed and signed original TWS application and cover letter;
2. Band Council Resolution (BCR) or board motion decision sheet;
3. Job title and detailed job description.
4. Detailed training plan (include dates, time frames, number of hours, activities, and objectives);
5. Course outlines and locations for any off-site training;
6. Copy of instructors/trainers resumes.
7. Specify or outline Sponsor/Partner contributions.