Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services

Employment and Training Services Provided by
Ontario Ministries
Chapter 9: Employment and Training Services
Ontario offers a range of employment and training services through the Ministry of Training,
Colleges and Universities (MTCU) as well as other ministries, including Citizenship and
Immigration, and Community and Social Services.
The MTCU administers the bulk of these services through its employment and training
network, Employment Ontario (EO). Employment Ontario was created through the integration
of a variety of federal and provincial programs when the Canada–Ontario Labour Market
Development Agreement (LMDA) of 2007 transferred control of a broad range of labourmarket
and training programs to the province. With a budget of about $1 billion annually, EO
currently serves more than one million people including employers, laid-off workers,
apprentices, older workers, newcomers and youth.
The Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) provides employment supports to
social assistance clients through the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and
Ontario Works (OW). In 2010, MCSS spent over $200 million on employment supports for
social assistance recipients. The ODSP provides income and employment support to enable
people with disabilities and their families to live independently. Through OW Employment
Assistance, recipients receive practical assistance preparing for and finding jobs.
The Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (MCI) offers programs to facilitate labour-market
integration of immigrants, including bridge training programs to provide newcomers with the
occupation-specific training that gives them the skills, language capabilities and Canadian
work experience to obtain employment in their field. Language programs for newcomers are
provided through Ontario’s school boards, as well as Specialized Language Training Pilot
Projects.
A number of other provincial ministries also provide employment and training supports,
including the OPS internship for professional immigrants, delivered by the Ministry of
Government Services, and Youth Opportunities Strategy, delivered through the Ministry
of Children and Youth Services.
In addition to funding programs directly, Ontario provides indirect support for training through
tax credits such as the Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit (ATTC) and Co-operative Education
Tax Credit (CETC). In 2010, the ATTC provided an estimated $120 million and the CETC
provided an estimated $25 million to businesses to support hiring and training. See Chapter 11,
Business Support, for a further discussion.
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