‘It is critically important we maintain a competitive workforce that can keep up with the speed of investment’
The Alberta government is investing $5.5 million in a new round of industry-led training funding through the Alberta Industry Skills Grant (AISG).
The program that gives HR leaders in construction, aviation, aerospace and technology a direct opportunity to offset training budgets amid a national skills shortage.
The Alberta government said the AISG is intended to respond to sector-wide skill shortages and complement existing workforce development programs already in place across the province. Funding will be distributed through a competitive call for proposals, open to employers, industry associations, training providers and other partners working collaboratively on training solutions.
The program is open to all industries, though the Alberta government noted its 2024 pilot concentrated funding on four industry-led projects in sectors facing acute shortages. That pilot invested $5 million.
Information sessions for prospective applicants are scheduled for Sept. 21 and 22. Full eligibility details, including funding caps, are outlined on the province's Workforce Strategies grant page.
Eligibility for grant
Applicants must be one of the following:
- for-profit employer
- industry/sector association
- employer organization or community economic development organization
- union
- post-secondary institute (PSI)
- private career college
- training provider
“To ensure training is relevant, the lead applicant must be an organization that can demonstrate capacity to effectively deliver workforce development projects,” said the Alberta government.
Applications opened Sept. 9 and close Oct. 30, with successful projects expected to begin in early 2027.
How can organizations apply?
The Alberta Industry Skills Grant (AISG) is administered through a competitive Call for Proposal process. According to the Alberta government, no updates are provided once the intake period closes and all applications enter evaluation, with successful applicants notified directly of funding approval.
Applicants are directed to first review the Alberta Industry Skills Grant information package, which includes the AISG Applicant Guidelines, the Call for Proposal Applicant Form and a budget template. From there, applicants must prepare a complete submission package containing the AISG Call for Proposal Applicant Form, an itemized budget template, and letters of project support and/or partner commitment. The completed package must be emailed to [email protected] by 3 p.m. Alberta time on October 30, 2026, with the subject line "[Your Organization Name]: AISG Call for Proposal." Hard copies will not be accepted.
The Alberta government is also accepting questions about the Call for Proposal at the same email address until Oct. 7, 2026, at 3 p.m. Alberta time. All questions submitted through that channel will be answered and published in the Applicant Guidelines by Oct. 9, 2026, with personal and organizational identifiers removed to protect privacy; questions submitted outside that process or after the deadline will not be answered.
Recently, the Alberta government launched an online portal allowing businesses across the province to disclose the operational, employment, and growth impacts of tariffs and counter-tariffs. According to the government, the data collected is meant to shape the province's policy response to real-world impacts across affected sectors.
Industry response to the program
Joseph Schow, Alberta's minister of jobs, economy, trade and immigration, said the grant supports a workforce that is "already punching above its weight," adding the province is "committed to protecting jobs and investing in a future that builds a stronger workforce and a stronger Alberta."
Employers that used the pilot funding reported concrete results. Tristan Bertram, director of industry affairs at the Thermal Insulation Association of Canada, said the grant "helped TIAC address a serious labour shortage in the mechanical insulation industry by creating a practical pathway into skilled trades training."
Craig Martin, chief operating officer of CWB Group, said his organization used the funding to train workers in UT-PA certification, "pairing online theory with one week of in-person practical training, so participants keep working while they upskill."
What it means going forward
The grant arrives as skills shortages remain widespread nationally. One-quarter of businesses, or 25.2%, expect difficulty recruiting skilled employees over the next three months, according to a Statistics Canada (StatCan) report released earlier this month.
It also follows a pattern of provincial investment in this area, including the province's earlier $33-million Training for Work program and an earlier expansion of the Canada-Alberta Job Grant program.
For HR leaders with operations touching Alberta's targeted sectors, the Oct. 30 deadline is the immediate action item. The Alberta government has not indicated whether future intakes will follow once this round concludes.
In May, the federal and Alberta governments announced a $68.5 training and adjustment supports for employers in the province’s steel, softwood lumber and related supply‑chain sectors.
