Through various WEST programs and services, our staff work with employers in Windsor-Essex to assess their needs to determine if WEST have the services and/or programs available to provide the appropriate supports employers are looking for to build their workforce.
To aid employers and assist individuals with obtaining employment, WEST offers wage subsidies, as an incentive with placements through the following programs:
- Apprenticeships
- CNC Industrial Mechanic Millwright Pre-Apprenticeship
- Employing Youth Talent Incentives (EYTI)
- Job Matching, Placement & Incentives
- Young Women in Leadership, Employment And Development (L.E.A.D.)
- Youth Job Link
Apprenticeship
Sponsoring an apprentice can be a great way to develop your labour force. As a sponsor, you the employer can build your team by providing an individual with hands-on training, as an apprentice. In addition, a $2,000 Apprenticeship Employer Signing/Retention Bonus is available to employers who hire, register and train an apprentice.
To train an apprentice, the employer is required to:
- Have the facilities, people and equipment needed to provide the training
- Allow the apprentice time off to attend classes
- Classroom training is mandatory and can be subsidized to keep costs low for the employer and apprentice
- Meet the Ontario regulations that apply to their trade, such as:
- Wage rates – including Ontario minimum wage (where applicable)
- Adhere to the ratio of journey-persons to apprentices
When the employer has a made a decision to train an apprentice, the apprentice must apply for apprentice registration. In the application, the apprentice is required to include the name of the employer as the sponsor. If the employer has not been approved previously as a sponsor, he or she will be contacted by their local Employment Ontario apprenticeship office to confirm their qualifications as a sponsor.
For more information, contact WEST at 519-256-6621 or visit:
CNC Industrial Mechanic Millwright Pre-Apprenticeship
Women’s Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor Inc. received funding from the Ministry of Status of Women of Ontario to offer a 42-week WIST CNC Industrial Mechanic Millwright Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Program to facilitate the entry of individuals without prior experience and knowledge into the millwright/machining trade.
The participants complete the Level 1 Industrial Mechanic Millwright Apprenticeship via in-school curriculum, as well as 70 hours of “hands-on” CNC Practical Skills with General Machinist concepts, combined with an 8-week industry work placement. The program is designed to meet current labour market shortages and address industry’s specific needs in these trades.
The benefits of the 8-week industry placement are two-fold:
- Trainees profit from real world exposure;
- Industry profits by reducing the training time for new employees and a wage subsidy is available to offset training costs.
Employing Young Talent Incentive (EYTI)
This program focuses on the hiring and retention of youth between ages 15 to 29, by providing support to small size employers that are willing to employee youth. An incentive is available to assist with the hiring and retention of young employees.
- Employers can receive a maximum of $2,000 to hire and retain youth ($1, 000 bonus at hiring and a $1,000 retention bonus at 6 months)
- To be an eligible employer, you must have less than 100 employees at hire
- The youth employed must work a minimum average of 20 hours to be eligible for the supports
Click the button below to go to the Employing Youth Talent Incentive (EYTI) page.
Job Matching, Placement and Incentives
WEST Job Developers and Industry Placement Specialists will liaise with employers in Windsor-Essex to assist them with screening the right candidates for their business and aid them in identifying, if a paid placement with an incentive is the right fit for their business needs, to help reduce the cost of training new employees.
A paid placement can range from 6-weeks to 8-weeks (depending on level of training provided to the employee).
The benefits of hosting a placement include:
- Professional employment services ranging from recruitment to placements
- RECRUITMENT = INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY
- Training and support to employees and trainees through coaching, training and workshops
- EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
- Financial support to assist in offsetting training cost (based on eligibility)
- TRAINING INCENTIVE = REDUCED COST
- Matching skills and interests with suitable work placement opportunities
- SKILLS ASSESSMENT
Young Women in Leadership, Employment And Development (L.E.A.D.)
The L.E.A.D. program focuses on assisting young women facing barriers to employment by providing supports, in-class training and a work placement. While participating in the program, the young women are able to develop their skills and knowledge through training to move towards securing employment.
The program is comprised of:
- 8-weeks of in-class training in employability essentials
- A 10-week work placement
A wage subsidy is available to employers through the L.E.A.D. program, to offset the training costs of the participants. During the duration of a placement, WEST staff will liaise with employers and participants to offer on-site job coaching and support, as required.
The benefits of the L.E.A.D. program wage subsidy:
- Professional employment services ranging from recruitment to placements
- RECRUITMENT = INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY
- Training and support to employees and trainees through coaching, training and workshops
- EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
- Financial support to assist in offsetting training cost (based on eligibility)
- TRAINING INCENTIVE = REDUCED COST
- Matching skills and interests with suitable work placement opportunities
- SKILLS ASSESSMENT
Click the button below to go to the Young Women in Leadership, Employment and Development page.
Youth Job Link
If you are an employer that would like to hire youth, there is a maximum of $300 available per youth to assist with Individual-focused Employment Supports and Employer Incentives.
Click the button below to go to the Youth Job Link page.
For more information about the wage subsidies available to employers, contact our office at 519-256-6621.
