Now more than ever, investing in and training your employees is key to future business success. Having said that, it has always been key! Regardless of a global crisis, pandemics, or economic uncertainty, our employees and team members matter to our business!
Having a team of employees with developed technical skills specific to their role, or essential skills like communication, emotional intelligence, productive conflict, and more are vital to their future growth and development, regardless of industry or job title.
While there may have been less emphasis on training since the spring of 2020 as businesses focused on overall business survival in the face of COVID-19, innovating and pivoting as required, it is encouraging to see a shift in attention to more training and development over recent months as we emerge from the other side of the pandemic.
As a business that provides Training, Coaching, and Consulting Solutions to businesses, our team is seeing a steady increase in training inquiries.
Get to Know Our Employee Training Programs
X5 Management’s training programs are tailored for each customer and are proven to deliver lasting results. Some of the programs we offer are:
- Enhancing Essential Skills: With a focus on enhancing communication, collaboration, and service delivery, this foundational program will build the skills of the entire team from frontline workers to Executive Leadership.
- Sales and Customer Service: From the rookie to the veteran sales professional, this training helps salespeople successfully create customer-centric interactions that improve results.
- Team Development: As an award-winning Authorized Partner of The Five Behaviors™ program, X5 Management works with teams to help them gain alignment in the five areas of The Five Behaviors model: Trust, Conflict, Commitment, Accountability and Results.
- Leadership Development: Focuses on helping leaders understand their own leadership styles and how their tendencies influence their effectiveness in specific leadership situations. Participants learn how their style influences how they manage time, make decisions, approach problems. They also learn what they need to do to adapt to the styles of others to bring out the best in every employee in their charge.
A key consideration for business owners and leaders that we speak with is definitely the cost, and how it will impact their organizational training budget.
Fortunately, there is a viable solution that can serve most businesses well from a budget perspective: the Canada-Alberta Job Grant. This grant has been available for several years.
However, recent changes in 2021 have enhanced the process and flexibility for businesses who wish to consider using the grant to help fund training costs.
What is the Canada-Alberta Job Grant?
The Canada-Alberta Job Grant is an employer-driven training program. Employers use a third-party training provider like X5 Management to deliver formal training to new or existing employees. The Grant pays up to two-thirds of the total cost of training and can cover up to $300,000 per fiscal year for the employer or up to $10,000 per employee.
The grant provides businesses with the opportunity to provide employee training to enhance their skills to help drive optimal results for their employer. Using the Canada Alberta Job Grant to invest in training your employees is a smart and cost-effective way to bring out the very best in your team. Ultimately, it helps you take your business to the next level.
The training format is a combination of full-day on-site and virtual workshops. Additionally, the programs are at least 21 hours total and delivered over the course of three to six months.
By accessing Canada-Alberta Job Grant training grants, employers must show how the training will:
- Impact an employee’s role
- Impact an employee’s job title
- Increase an employee’s salary
- Provide the business with new abilities
- Support new job opportunities
While there are specific criteria to qualify and be approved for grant funding, our team at X5 can help with the process.
5 Steps to Access the Canada-Alberta Job Grant:
- Schedule a complimentary Discovery Meeting with X5 Management. Then, we can determine your training needs and how we can best support your business.
- Select the X5 Management Training program that best meets your needs. X5 can tailor and customize any program for your business.
- Identify who/how many employees will take part in the training
- Complete and submit an online training grant application (Refer to the CAJG Applicant Guide for full details and instructions.)
- Pending your CAJG application approval, X5 Management will plan and schedule training dates that work best for your business. (Virtual or in-person training)
You are not committed to begin the employee training until you have official approval from the Government of Alberta. Additionally, you do not need to pay until we start with the training set-up. (I.e., Preparing tailored training material, printing of material, issuing assessment reports to trainees, etc.)
Consider the Benefits
The benefits of supporting your employees with training is quite obvious, and what many leaders do not realize is a 2022 survey (Lorman) is nearly 59% of employees claim they had no workplace training and that most of their skills were self-taught. In the same survey, 74% of employees said they were willing to learn new skills. Employees do believe learning and development in their workplace is important, therefore offering training and development becomes a retention strategy.
In September 2022, Statistics Canada reported close to one million job openings! A retention strategy and a comprehensive succession plan are critical.
Ready to learn more about our employee training programs?
Organizations need well-trained employees to remain competitive. There has never been a better time to assess your employee training needs! It’s time to learn more about your organization’s eligibility for the Canada-Alberta Job Grant. We are happy to help you with a complimentary, no-obligation, consultation to review this opportunity further. We are here to help!
