Federal program opens to help employers keep workers and fund training through downturns

What the program does

The Workforce Retention and Retraining Program (WRRP) consolidates Employment Insurance work-sharing benefits with direct federal training grants into a single application. Announced on October 22, 2026, as part of the $3.5 billion Rapid Response Supports for Workers and Employers package, the program addresses the traditional gap where employers had to juggle separate applications for hour reductions and training funding, often abandoning the skills component due to administrative burden.

The WRRP allows employers facing trade pressures or operational challenges to maintain workforce income while investing in skill development. Employees must experience at least a 10 percent reduction in normal weekly earnings to participate, making the program accessible to businesses facing modest downturns, not just severe crises.

How income support works

The program restructures how income replacement is calculated during reduced work hours. Standard Employment Insurance replaces roughly 55 percent of insurable earnings. Under WRRP, when workers participate in approved training during their cut hours, income replacement rises to approximately 70 percent of lost earnings through the combination of EI Work-Sharing benefits and a federal retraining top-up.

For example, a worker earning $1,200 weekly facing a 40 percent schedule reduction would receive roughly $720 from the employer for regular hours plus EI and the training top-up, bringing gross earnings to approximately $1,056—a manageable adjustment compared to the roughly $984 under standard work-sharing arrangements.

Training support and requirements

Employers receive up to $1,000 per participating employee to cover tuition, software licenses, course materials, and administrative costs. Training can focus on technical skills (CNC programming, diagnostic software, safety certifications), digital literacy and workplace technologies, foundational skills aligned with the Skills for Success framework, or peer-to-peer mentorship programs.

To access the training grant, employers must commit to delivering structured training for at least 40 percent of the agreement's total duration. Training must occur during hours trimmed from regular work schedules. Employers can access the federal Job Bank Training Finder to identify recognized courses and micro-credentials, including many available online or tuition-free.

• Eligible training areas: technical skills, digital literacy, foundational and transferable skills, and structured mentorship
• Employers can customize training to match workplace needs rather than generic programs
• Training must be clearly separated from regular production hours on payroll records

Operational flexibility and duration

The program temporarily suspends standard work-sharing rules to accommodate real-world operations. Under traditional work-sharing, all affected workers must reduce hours by the same percentage; WRRP allows employers to distribute reduced hours and training schedules flexibly across the team. Employers can also chain consecutive agreements together for up to 152 cumulative weeks, providing nearly three years of stability to retool operations or navigate prolonged trade disruptions.

Broader EI support running through late 2027

The WRRP launched alongside temporary Employment Insurance changes extending through late 2027. These measures waive the standard one-week waiting period for EI claims, provide up to 20 additional weeks of benefits for long-tenured workers, and suspend the rule that separates benefit payments from severance or termination pay, allowing workers to collect EI immediately after layoff regardless of separation amounts.