What is Worker Retention Grant (Work-Sharing Training Top-Up)?
Worker Retention Grant (Work-Sharing Training Top-Up) is delivered by Employment and Social Development Canada as a grant. Funding is typically top-up of employee income during reduced hours + training. This page covers eligibility, intake status, and what an application actually requires.
At a glance
| Funding amount | Top-up of employee income during reduced hours + training |
|---|---|
| Cost share | 100% government (for qualifying wage top-up during training) |
| Level | Federal |
| Program type | Grant |
| Delivered by | Employment and Social Development Canada |
| Available in | All provinces |
| Intake status | Open — applications opened February 17, 2026 |
| Last verified | 2026-06-09 |
Who qualifies
- Eligible industries: All — employers with active Work-Sharing agreements
- Employee count: min 2
- Eligible activities: Top-up income for employees in active Work-Sharing agreements who are taking approved training during reduced hours.
Watch out for
No active Work-Sharing agreement; no training component; permanent layoff scenarios
Deadlines & how to apply
Open since February 17, 2026. $102.7M over two years. Lets Work-Sharing employees in training keep ~70% of regular income (vs 55%). Employer must commit to training for at least 40% of the weeks covered by the grant agreement. Work-Sharing tariff special measures extended to March 31, 2027.
How NorthGrants helps with Worker Retention Grant (Work-Sharing Training Top-Up)
Most business owners read about Worker Retention Grant (Work-Sharing Training Top-Up), see the funding amount, and stop. The hard part isn't finding the grant. It's building an application that actually wins.
NorthGrants builds the full application framework for you: a tailored project narrative aligned to this program's evaluation criteria, a budget structure that maps to eligible costs, and the supporting documentation checklist. You review it, refine the parts only you can write, and submit.