StrongerBC future skills grant

What is the StrongerBC future skills grant program?

The StrongerBC future skills grant provides funding to British Columbians aged 19 years or older – regardless of financial need – and covers up to $3,500 in eligible short-term skills training at public post-secondary institutions.

Through the StrongerBC future skills grant, the program has already registered learners in over 11,300 seats across the province, helping them access high-quality and relevant training opportunities.  

As jobs transform and rapid training is required, people will be able to increase their skills, succeed in their current jobs, get better paid jobs, adapt to current and future labour market conditions and be better equipped for the new global economy.

For businesses, this means that over the next three years, there will be thousands of newly trained workers and existing workers with enhanced skills ready to fill in-demand positions.

What's new

Winter (January – March) 2024 semester
Funding under the future skills grant program will be available in the winter 2024 semester for only those learners who initiated a program of study in the fall 2023 semester using their future skills grant funding of $3,500 and whose program extended beyond that first semester (midstream learners). To determine whether you qualify as a midstream learner, or for more information see below.

Future Learners
The government is committed to providing high-quality and relevant learning opportunities for learners and employers. That is why the government will be refreshing the list of programs funded under the StrongerBC future skills grant beginning in 2024. This will allow the government to offer, in fall 2024, more diverse and updated skills training options for British Columbians who want to access well-paid, high opportunity occupations. Please stay tuned for the refreshed list of program offerings, which will be posted in mid-late spring 2024. We thank you for your interest and enthusiasm in the StrongerBC future skills grant program.

Definitions: Winter 2024 semester eligible midstream learners 
Midstream learners are those learners who  took a future skills grant funded program in the fall of 2023 and require additional courses or programming in the winter of 2024 to complete that programming. Only learners defined as midstream learners will have access to the remaining funds in their $3,500 lifetime grant in the winter  2024 semester. Those learners who are not defined as midstream learners will need to await future semesters to continue using or begin using their grant.

Midstream learners’ eligibility criteria for future skills grant funding for the winter 2024 semester are as follows:

• You must have started a future skills grant-funded program in the fall 2023 semester and need to take more courses to complete the original program.
• Only courses that start in the winter 2024 semester, between January 1, 2024 - March 31, 2024, and are required to complete a program or credential that has already started are eligible for future skills grant funding in the winter 2024 semester.
• You must continue with the same program and study at the same institution where you began your program. You cannot switch to a different program or a different institution and retain access to your future skills grant funding for the winter 2024 semester.  Funding will be available in fall 2024 semester if you wish to consider other  programs or institutions that may be available in the fall 2024 semester.
• You must not have already exceeded your future skills grant lifetime maximum allotment of $3,500.

Current status:*

*May be subject to change

Check out the resources below, including Eligibility Criteria, Learning Opportunities and Guidelines.

For more information about the grant, email: futureskillsgrant@gov.bc.ca
 

Resources