STAFF WRITER – The Ontario Construction Report
The Ontario Masonry Training Centre (OMTC) has outlined a variety of incentives and benefits for apprentices preparing for a masonry career.
Support to non-employment insurance eligible apprentices during in-school training.
The Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development says it will provide as much as $1,500 in taxable financial supports “for apprentices who are not eligible for federal Employment Insurance (EI) who attend full time in-school training at a delivery agency approved by the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities (MTCU),” including the OMTC.
There are a number of requirements including that the person receiving the support is out of high school, while having “completed a level of school full-time apprenticeship in-school training at an approved MTCU training delivery agent on or after Jan. 1, 2010 while being registered as an Ontario apprentice without being eligible for Employment Insurance benefits for the duration of the level of in-school training.”
Apprenticeship incentive and completion grants
The federal government offers incentive and completion grants. The apprenticeship incentive grant is a taxable cash grant of $1,000 per year, to a maximum of $2,000 per person, available to registered apprentices once they have successfully finished their first or second year/level (or equivalent) of the masonry apprenticeship program (and that applies as well for other Red Seal trades).
Meanwhile, the apprenticeship completion grant is a one-time taxable cash grant of $2,000 maximum and is available to registered apprentices who have successfully completed their apprenticeship training and obtained their journeyperson certification.
OMTC Carhartt
Jacket OMTC apprentices who submit proof from the MTCU that they have passed the Red Seal (Inter-Provincial) Certificate of Qualification exam for brick and stone masons, may be eligible to receive a Carhartt jacket ($400 value) embroidered with the OMTC and Red Seal logo at OMTC’s next “Red Seal Jacket” function.
The OMTC has two campuses in Mississauga and Orleans (Ottawa). For more information, see: www.ontariomasonrytrainingcentre. com.