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Part of Indigenous funding resources

Employment Partnerships Program

Funding for Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program agreement holders to connect Indigenous people to employment.

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Indigenous funding resources

Important dates

The call for applications will open on June 2, 2025, and close on September 2, 2025.

  • Term/project start date: must be on or after January 1, 2026
  • Project activities end: must be on or before December 31, 2026
  • Final reporting due date: March 31, 2027 (note: for projects with participant data, there will quarterly reporting. See participant data under the Reporting section).
  • Surplus due date: April 30, 2027
  • Term end date: June 31, 2027
    • The term end date is the last day an amendment can be completed before the grant is no longer eligible for amendment. Requests need to be made approximately 4 to 6 weeks before the term end date to allow for processing.

Overview

Employment Partnerships Program (EPP) provides funding to Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program agreement holders for Indigenous workforce development.

EPP project priorities are to:

  • promote employment opportunities to Indigenous people
  • develop strategies to employ and retain Indigenous workers
  • support labour market and workforce planning activities

EPP complements other funding programs and is not intended to replace or duplicate other sources of financing that may be available.

Priorities

EPP priorities for 2025 and 2026 are to:

  • foster industry partnerships through EPP-funded projects to expand the availability, accessibility and quality of Indigenous employment opportunities
  • support projects to inform organizational priorities with labour market information to better meet skills needs and market demand
  • provide direct training and employment supports

Funding

EPP is funded federally through the Canada-Alberta Labour Market Development Agreement and the Canada-Alberta Workforce Development Agreement.

There is no maximum amount for grant funding requests; however, grant program funding is limited. An application request may not receive full funding as funding is dependent on the total number of eligible applications the grant funding program receives. Funding allocations will be determined by:

  • availability of grant program funding
  • alignment with grant program priorities
  • ability of partners to make financial, in-kind or both types of contributions

In-kind contributions are measurable, non-monetary contributions provided by the applicant or its partners considered necessary to the success of the project. An example could be facility rental for program activities.

The funding requested must be supported by the project activities and expenses detailed in the application.

Preference is given to projects with documented community and industry partnerships demonstrated through letters of support, in-kind/financial contributions or both listed in the project application.

The grant may be stacked with other government (federal, provincial, municipal) and industry funding sources. For the purpose of this grant, the grant stack funding level to a recipient from all sources can be up to 100% of eligible costs.

Eligible applicants

The following Alberta organizations are eligible to apply:

Applicants must also be corporate entities in good standing, having met reporting deadlines and requirements for any previously funded grants from Indigenous Relations.

Eligible activities

  • Direct training

    Under EPP, direct training applicants are limited to training lasting more than 2 weeks and a maximum of 52 weeks less a day in duration.

    Examples:

    • training certificates/courses
      • food safety certificates
      • driver’s licence training
      • safety tickets
      • pre-trades and trades

  • Light touch / no touch (no direct training)

    Under EPP, light touch/no touch activities are those where the service provider has little to no direct interaction with individuals.

    Examples:

    • career/job fair
    • symposium
    • labour force surveys
    • strategic planning

  • Employment assistance services

    Under EPP, employment assistance services are a variety of services that support individuals as they prepare to enter or re-enter the workforce or help them to find a better job.

    Examples:

    • job search services
    • career counselling

Budget

Applications must include all project expenses, both eligible and ineligible, in the budget. Applications must also outline all sources of project funding, including non-government sources and in-kind contributions.

Application budget details will be assessed for eligibility according to the criteria of the selected stream. Applicants must ensure budget items are clearly linked to project activities.

Eligible expenses

  • Direct training

    Eligible expenses can include:

    • direct training costs
    • training supplies and materials
    • venues for training
    • wages and benefits for dedicated project staff members
    • required travel expenses for project participants
    • project administration costs (maximum 15% of total amount requested) – must be based on project activities and scope
    • Elder honoraria

    Ineligible expenses include, but are not limited to:

    • living allowances
    • curriculum development
    • ongoing operating costs of an Indigenous government, organization, or corporation
      (including office space rent)
    • capital costs (acquisitions, construction, development, or enhancement of buildings, equipment, electronics, furniture, vehicles, or other tangible assets)
    • consultant or board member honoraria, donations, or prize money
    • payments for services that would normally be provided without charge

  • Light touch/no touch (no direct training)

    Eligible expenses can include:

    • venues for employment/industry events
    • wages and benefits for dedicated project staff members
    • project administration costs (maximum 15% of total amount requested) – must be based on project activities and scope
    • Elder honoraria

    Ineligible expenses include, but are not limited to:

    • ongoing operating costs of an Indigenous government, organization, or corporation
      (including office space rent)
    • capital costs (acquisitions, construction, development, or enhancement of buildings, equipment, electronics, furniture, vehicles, or other tangible assets)
    • consultant or board member honoraria, donations, or prize money
    • payments for services that would normally be provided without charge

  • Employment assistance services

    Eligible expenses can include:

    • wages and benefits for dedicated project staff members
    • program materials
    • marketing/advertising
    • administration costs (maximum 15% of total amount requested)

    Ineligible expenses include, but are not limited to:

    • ongoing operating costs of an Indigenous government, organization, or corporation
      (Including office space rent)
    • capital costs (acquisitions, construction, development, or enhancement of buildings, equipment, electronics, furniture, vehicles, or other tangible assets)
    • consultant or board member honoraria, donations, or prize money
    • payments for services that would normally be provided without charge

Supporting documentation

Relevant supporting documents can strengthen your application and provide more evidence of your organization’s readiness to manage a successful project. For example:

  • additional documents detailing budgets and timelines attached to your formal application
  • letters of support from partners making contributions in the form of general support or job guarantees that cannot be reflected in your budget
  • quotes from service providers can be included when you are procuring a service, such as training, and have more than one option for providers

How to apply

Fillable PDF forms may not open properly on some mobile devices and web browsers. See the step-by-step guide or contact PDF form technical support.

Step 1. Complete the application package

When the application period opens, you will need to complete the grant application form and include supporting documents and other pertinent information.

Employment Partnerships Program Application Form

Step 2. Submit the application package

Submit your application to [email protected].

There is no guarantee the project will be approved until you receive formal notification that your application has been selected for funding.

After you apply

After you submit your application:

  • You will receive an email confirmation your submission has been received, usually within 3 business days.
  • EPP staff will assess the application to ensure each submission includes the required information.
  • Complete applications will be evaluated based on budget and activity eligibility criteria.
  • Each successful applicant will be notified by letter from the Minister of Indigenous Relations about the final funding decision.

  • Application evaluation

    Applications will be evaluated based on:

    • EPP alignment:
      • project outcomes and activities clearly align with EPP priorities
    • organizational capacity:
      • employment and training in organizational mandate and previously completed similar projects
      • clearly stated outcomes and steps taken to ensure success
    • project feasibility:
      • clear activities and timelines contributing to stated outcomes
      • clear identification of the need for the project
      • partner support (for example, community, employer, industry) demonstrated through budgetary contributions, letters of support or both
      • detailed and complete budget clearly linked to project activities

  • Fund transfers

    Approved projects receive funding payments via direct deposit, approximately 4 to 6 weeks after your approval letter is received. Delays are possible.

    If your organization has not received previous funding from the ministry, if your office location has moved, or if your banking information has changed, fill out the Application for Direct Deposit form and submit it with your application.

  • Delayed projects

    If the originally scheduled project activities are delayed or unable to proceed, contact your Grant Advisor as soon as possible, preferably before the scheduled end date of your project.

    Amendments

    • Grant recipients can request amendments to the original Grant and Contribution Agreement in writing. Amendment requests must include specific changes required, along with a brief rationale for the requested change. All amendments are subject to approval.
    • Amendment requests submitted after the Grant and Contribution Agreement term end date will not be considered.
    • To avoid overlapping grants and deliverables, amendments will only be considered as long as the applicant is not seeking funding for the same project in the subsequent intake.

Reporting

All projects need to be evaluated upon completion. Following project approval, you will receive the reporting templates for grant deliverables as per the Grant and Contribution Agreement.

At any time, the Government of Alberta may evaluate the project or initiative, or request an audit of your books, accounts and records related to the project or initiative.

Appendix C of the Grant Contribution Agreement outlines the deliverables required for each grant project, as well as the final reporting due date and requirements.

EPP projects, depending on the grant stream selected, require some or all the following grant deliverables:

  • Financial statement
  • Narrative report
    • Limited participant demographic information will also be required for no touch/light touch labour market activities, such as job fairs, symposiums and other projects that do not involve direct training.
  • Participant data:
    • For direct training and employment assistance services grants, detailed participant data information is required as per the Canada – Alberta Workforce Development Agreement (Annex 2: 3.0) and the Canada – Alberta Labour Market Development Agreement (Schedule 2, Annex 3: 4.0).
    • For all active projects requiring participant data, see the following ‘Participant data reporting’ section for important changes to the reporting requirements.
    • Participant data contains sensitive information that should not be sent via email. Before each quarter, you will receive a secure link from [email protected] to submit the participant data. Do not send participant data directly over email.

Participant data reporting

Important changes to participant data reporting requirements 

Reporting requirements for the participant data deliverable have been updated as of June 2023.

For all active projects requiring participant data (refer to Appendix C of the Grant Contribution Agreement), the reporting template must be completed in full, and will be due quarterly on the following dates:

  • March 15 (first quarterly participant data report)
  • June 15 (second quarterly participant data report)
  • September 15 (third quarterly participant data report)
  • December 15 (fourth quarterly participant data report)

Publication

Contact

Connect with staff of the Employment Partnerships Program:

Email: [email protected]

Address:
Alberta Indigenous Relations
9th Floor, Forestry Building
9920 108 Street NW
Edmonton, Alberta  T5K 2M4

Related

Previous Aboriginal Business Investment Fund
Next Community Support Fund