The modern employment domain makes it relatively easy for new graduates and working professionals to find new career opportunities. However, most people who have either lost their jobs or want to renew their careers after long breaks may find it difficult to obtain gainful employment as the career gap reduces the number of opportunities available to them.
The Government of the Ontario Province of Canada has a grand scheme that can help unemployed people get back on their feet. The program, appropriately named as Second Career, is an excellent initiative to monetarily support unemployed citizens to pursue relevant courses that can help them get back to work.
If you are an Ontario resident who has lost their job and want to pursue a second career program, reading this blog will help you learn all that you would need to know about this laudable initiative.
What is the second career program?
The Second Career program is the brainchild of the Government of Ontario to wholly or partially fund the cost of professionally relevant courses that can be pursued by eligible citizens or permanent residents to get a career role listed under the National Occupation Classification.
The Second Career program is a great initiative to assist unemployed people with breaks in their career to get back in the working pool with relevant qualifications. The primary advantage of the program is that the selected candidates need not pay back the Ontario Government for financial assistance.
What programs can you pursue under the Second Career program?
As an eligible candidate under the program, you can apply for all the professional courses that are in high demand, develop industry-specific expertise, and improve your career prospects. The courses approved by the Second Career initiative are also required to provide specific technical expertise in the industrially relevant domains.
What is the eligibility criteria governing the Second Career program?
The program is open to all Canadian citizens and permanent residents living in the province of Ontario, who are unemployed or have been laid off. People working in temporary jobs after their lay-off, also qualify for Second Career Program. However, their work hours must not exceed 19 hours per week.
Apart from these primary criteria, candidates also need to show their previous employment history, education status, duration of unemployment and cover letters and correspondence from employers in the present to verify that you have been applying for jobs.
How much capital can you get for your studies under Second Career?
Candidates applying to the Second Career program can be asked to specify the stipulated costs of their career training. Based on their work profiles and gross household incomes, the program can sponsor their tuition, transportation, child care and basic living allowance up to a limit of CAD 410 per week. The maximum reimbursement amount is CAD 28,000. If the candidates’ total costs exceed the limit, they would have to pay the rest of the amount from their pockets.
