Students at Midland’s Georgian College Robbert Hartog Campus celebrated more than just the end of exams in April. Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton joined students to remind them of the federal government’s apprenticeship completion grant, which offers $2,000 to eligible applicants who complete their apprenticeship training and certification in a designated trade.
The measure was introduced in the January budget. The extra money, Stanton said, can be applied for through Service Canada, the same as the existing apprenticeship incentive grant, which provides apprentices with a $1,000 taxable cash grant when they complete the first and/or second level of their apprenticeship program. “For a typical apprenticeship student, they can match two together and, if they complete their program, can get up to $4,000 for their education,” he said, adding the grant will serve as an incentive to complete the program.
“Students will want to finish because they know they will get that extra $2,000, and that will give them the qualifications they need,” he said. “Even in this time, when the economy in some spots of the country has seen some slowdowns, there (are) still … skills shortages.” Stanton defended the fact the grants are not tax-exempt.

“Every grant or program has different implications on the treasury,” he said. “If it were a tax-free grant, maybe it would be a lower amount of money. In this case, because you’ve got students in different circumstances and tax eligibilities, it makes it fair across the board.” Gabe Koopmans, the Midland campus manager, said any additional incentives for students to complete a college program are great. “We’re quite lucky in that we tend to have a really good retention rate at the college for students completing their programs, so this will just be one more incentive for them to look forward to completing their program,” she said. Jerry MacDonald, an apprentice electrician, said with the high cost of going to school, the grant will definitely serve as an extra incentive. “I think it will help to make people more inclined to (finish),” he said. Dan Hunter, an apprentice industrial electrician, agreed and said it came as great news. “Anybody who sees it is going to see it’s free money to cover the costs of the books (or) any expense incurred while going to school. An incentive grant is an appropriate name for it,” he said. “$2,000 extra for completing your (education) is a bonus because, to this point, there wasn’t any when you complete. This is like icing on the cake.”