Workforce Retention and Retraining Program (WRRP) Retraining Grant
Compared with the 242 other application forms we have read
- States real length limits, about 1,500 words in total. Only 64 tell you how long to write.
- What does not disqualify you: Formal, credentialed or third-party training. 119 record an exemption like this.
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Eligibility & Details
What this program funds and who can apply
Program Description
The Workforce Retention and Retraining Program combines Work-Sharing with the Retraining Grant, the renamed and expanded Worker Retention Grant, under one federal employer program extended to March 31, 2028. An employer with an active Work-Sharing agreement that offers training to its reduced-hours staff gets a weekly income top-up for those employees, lifting their income replacement from 55% to about 70% and covering the employer share of EI and CPP or QPP on it, plus new funding of up to $1,000 per participating employee for training and administrative costs. Employers must offer training in at least 40% of the agreement's weeks, and under the tariffs special measures businesses in operation for one year, and tariff-hit non-profits, can now qualify. Applications are open through GCOS until December 31, 2027 at 3 pm EST.
Eligibility Requirements
- Must hold an active Workforce Retention and Retraining Program - Work-Sharing agreement with Service Canada, and apply for Work-Sharing before the Retraining Grant
- Must commit to fostering training for EI-eligible participating employees and attest to it, offering training in at least 40% of the Retraining Grant agreement period (for example at least 30 weeks of a 76-week agreement), and re-commit for any extension
- Training must be offered to all eligible employees in the Work-Sharing unit; only employees receiving EI Work-Sharing benefits can receive the income top-up
- Work-Sharing tariffs special measures: open to businesses whose activity has fallen because of the threat or reality of tariffs, operating in Canada for at least 1 year, with at least 2 EI-eligible employees who agree to reduce hours and share the available work
- Under the special measures, eligibility also extends to tariff-affected non-profit and charitable organizations, cyclical or seasonal employers, employers with a work decline under 10%, and businesses that need to transform, retool or diversify even without reduced activity yet
- Outside the special measures, the standard Work-Sharing rules apply: a year-round business operating in Canada for at least 2 years, a decrease in overall work activity of at least 10% over the last 6 months caused by factors beyond the employer's control, recovery measures in place, and at least two eligible employees sharing the work
- Must declare any amounts owing and in default to the Government of Canada
- Alberta and Quebec organizations may need approval from their provincial government before accepting ESDC funding
Quick Assessment
Funding Details
- Amount
- Wage top-up plus $1,000 per traineeA weekly income top-up for each participating employee who is receiving EI Work-Sharing benefits and taking training, raising income replacement from 55% to about 70% of normal wages, plus the employer portion of EI premiums and CPP or QPP contributions on that top-up. On top of this, training funding of up to $1,000 per eligible participant toward training and administrative costs, calculated by ESDC. ESDC publishes no fixed total: the amount depends on the number of participating employees, the length of the agreement and the reduction rate, estimated with the Grant Calculator.
- Type
- Grant
- Level
- Federal
- Deadline
- Applications accepted until December 31, 2027 at 3 pm EST
Program Scorecard
Competition, effort, and approval at a glance
Moderate — standard application process
Below average competition
Moderate — standard requirements
How to Win
Insider tips, common pitfalls, and what successful applicants look like
Insider TipThe biggest change in the rename is money for the training itself: the old Worker Retention Grant paid only the top-up and left training at the employer's cost, while the Retraining Grant adds up to $1,000 per participant for trainers, materials, staff time and a capped slice of admin, and pays all of it in the first instalment.
Success Profile
Evaluation Criteria
How WRRP judges your application
What the reviewer scores, what gets applications rejected, and what to write.
Distilled from 6+ source documents on canada.ca, condensed into one brief. Sources as of 2026-09-04.
6 of the sources
- Worker Retention Grant for Work-Sharing Employers: What this…
- Worker Retention Grant for Work-Sharing Employers: Who can apply
- Worker Retention Grant for Work-Sharing Employers: Prepare to apply
- Worker Retention Grant for Work-Sharing Employers: Apply
- Manage your Worker Retention Grant agreement
- Worker Retention Grant for Work-Sharing Employers
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What WRRP favours
Training need not be formal; informal and on-the-job learning qualifies◦
“Training does not need to be formal, credential based or delivered by a third-party provider. Eligible training may include informal, on the job, facilitator led, peer to peer, online, or in person learning.”
The form
Prerequisites
- 1Prerequisite: an approved AND implemented Work-Sharing agreement (separate programme)yes/no + writtenno limit
Employers cannot apply for the Grant before implementing their Work-Sharing agreement.
Eligibility
- 2Worker Retention Grant eligibility - eligible employerscheckboxesno limit
- 3Worker Retention Grant eligibility - eligible employeescheckboxesno limit
- 4Worker Retention Grant eligibility - eligible project (training)checkboxesno limit
Organization information
- 1Legal name (Question 1)short answerno limit
- 2Operating (common) name (Question 2)short answerno limit
- 3Year established (Question 3)short answerno limit
- 4Organization type (Question 4)selectionno limit
- 5Organization category (Question 5)selectionno limit
- 6Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Business number (Question 6)short answerno limit
- 7Organization legal address (Question 7)short answerno limit
- 8Mailing address (Question 8)yes/no + writtenno limit
This question is mandatory. State "yes" or "no" to the question of whether your mailing address is the same as the primary address. If no, state the mailing address of your organization.
- 9Organization's primary activities (Question 9)written answer · 500 words
Contacts
- 10 to 13Primary contact information (Questions 10 to 13)short answerno limit
- 14 to 17Secondary contact information (Questions 14 to 17)short answerno limit
Amounts owed
- 18 and 19Does your organization owe any amount to the Government of Canada? (Questions 18 and 19)tableno limit
Project (training)
- 20Project title (Question 20)short answerno limit
- 21 and 22Planned project start and end dates (Questions 21 and 22)short answerno limit
- 23Amount requested from ESDC (Question 23)short answerno limit
- 24Project summary - the training plan (Question 24)written answer · 500 words
- 25Project objectives (Question 25)written answer · 500 words
- 26Project activities and timelines (Question 26)tableno limit
- 27Delivery locations (Question 27)yes/no + writtenno limit
- 28Official language minority communities (Question 28)selectionno limit
- 29Is your project targeting vulnerable groups? (Question 29)checkboxesno limit
Costs and funding
- 30Project costs (Question 30)tableno limit
- 31Funding sources (Question 31)tableno limit
- 32Budget details (Question 32)written answerno limit
Program-specific questions and attestation
- Part 4Part 4 - Program Specific Questionscheckboxesno limit
- Part 5Part 5 - Attestationcheckboxno limit
Attachments and declarations
- 31Grant Calculator workbook (the only required supporting document)spreadsheetno limit
- 32Grant Calculator - Declarationcheckboxno limit
- 33Employee Annex - to be given to every participating employeeshort answerno limit
bar = length the funder allows, from its stated limits
Judged against
- 1
Is the organization eligible?
Show them Show an approved and implemented Work-Sharing agreement, an eligible employer type, and that you are not a government body or municipality.◦
In the funder’s words · 1
- Organization is eligible
- 2
Is the training project eligible?
What to show, and the funder’s 1 criterion behind it in Premium
- 3
Is the application complete and on time?
What to show, and the funder’s 2 criteria behind it in Premium
5 questions the reviewer answers about you, in Premium.
Where applicants fail
“If your application is incomplete, we'll send you an email. You'll have 5 business days to submit the missing information. If your application isn't complete by that time, we may reject it.”
“Any costs incurred prior to the establishment of a Grant agreement are incurred solely at your risk without obligation of reimbursement by ESDC.”
Premium · the rest of this brief
See all 16 rules that can reject you and every criterion you are judged on. Then we draft your application for you.
12 more rules that can reject you · 3 more criteria · 31 more prompts
Do you pass?
Each one can rule you out. Tick the ones you meet.
Your business
Training in 40% of grant weeks
Attest to fostering access to training opportunities and provide details on their approach, ensuring that training is offered for at least 40% of the Grant agreement period
Your organisation
Declare amounts owing to Canada
Declare any amounts owing and in default to the Government of Canada
The project
No longer than 76 weeks or agreement
Not exceed 76 weeks duration and be no longer than the Work-Sharing agreement
Completed by March 27, 2027
Be completed by Saturday, March 27, 2027, at the latest
1 thing this funder says you do NOT need, in Premium.
Documents to attach
Ticks are kept on this device.
The money
Payment installments50% start, 40% mid, 10% final
50% of the approved funding is issued at the start of the agreement; 40% is issued following the submission and acceptance of a validation report (Payment Installment 2); and 10% is issued following the submission and acceptance of a final attestation progress report
Income replacement rate55% to about 70%
This additional top-up support will help workers keep their income closer to their normal wages while they participate in training opportunities. It will boost their income while on Work-Sharing, increasing their income replacement rate from 55% to about 70%.
StackingEmployers can self-fund and draw other support
However, employers can self-fund relevant training for their workers and draw on other financial support for training, including recent investments under the Workforce Tariff Response to provide training and employment supports to workers affected by tariffs.
Costs before approvalStarted projects eligible, with reimbursement risk
You can apply for projects that have already started, subject to certain conditions. However, you assume the risk of not being reimbursed if: the project is not approved; the costs are deemed ineligible
What it pays for · 1
- Eligible costs are limited to the: income supplement paid to eligible employees, and Mandatory Employment Related Costs applicable on the supplement. This is limited to the employer portion only of the: EI premiums; Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan contributions
What it does not pay for · 3
- The costs that may be associated with the design and/or delivery of training are not eligible under this Grant.
- professional fees; management consulting; travel and accommodation; materials and supplies; venue or logistics; virtual platform licenses; printing participant materials
- Ineligible training includes but is not limited to: attending conferences; training that employers are legally required to provide
From application to money
- Applications openFebruary 16, 2026Applications open February 16, 2026
- Deadline to applyDecember 31, 2026 at 3pm ESTApply before December 31, 2026, 3pm EST
- Funding decisionDecision within 45 days of application
- Sign the agreementSign agreement; prior costs may not qualify
- Project must endSaturday, March 27, 2027Project ends by March 27, 2027
- Final report dueFinal report within 21 days of end
In the funder’s words · 6
- Applications open
- You can apply from February 16, 2026 to December 31, 2026, at 3pm EST
- Deadline to apply
- Submit your application in the Grants and Contributions Online Services account before the intake closes at 3pm EST.
- Funding decision
- ESDC expects to make funding decisions within 45 days of receipt of a complete application. This timeline may be extended if you haven't implemented your Work-Sharing agreement at the time you apply.
- Sign the agreement
- Costs incurred before a funding agreement is signed by your organization and the Department may not be reimbursed and the project may no longer be eligible for funding.
- Project must end
- Your project must be completed by Saturday, March 27, 2027, at the latest.
- Final report due
- the final attestation progress report must be submitted no later than 21 calendar days following the project end date, as indicated on your WRG agreement (21 calendar days following the project end date)
Quoted lines are word for word from the source documents; lines marked ◦ are our reading of them.
Everything you need to win WRRP
Not a marketing summary. The actual checklist, intel, and stack strategy reviewers look for.
- 5-document checklist with what each reviewer is actually checking
- Your Application Game Plan — the print-ready PDF the preview below describes
- 6-step application timeline with prep hours per step
- Insider tip from program officers on what separates winners
- 5-program stacking strategy to combine with compatible funding
- Success profile + evaluation criteria — exactly what reviewers score on
Application Playbook
Step-by-step process, required documents, and expenses
Application Steps
Required Documents 5
Eligible Expenses 8
Ineligible Expenses 9
Intake Periods
Deadline Notes
Ineligible Organizations
- 5 more application steps
- 3 more required documents
- 8 eligible expenses
- 9 ineligible expenses
- Intake periods
- Deadline notes
- Ineligible organizations
Funding Stack Strategy
Compatible programs, clawback risk, and combined funding potential
Compatible Programs
Clawback Risk
Low RiskHow WRRP Compares
Side-by-side with similar programs
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| Workforce Retention and Retraining Pr... | up to $1,000 | Moderate | Milestone-Based | Applications accepted... |
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| Industrial Research Assistance Progra... | Up to $1M | Moderate | Reimbursement | Ongoing |
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the questions founders most often ask about WRRP