Workforce Readiness Initiative

The Workforce Readiness Initiative (WRI) is a project-based funding program to strengthen trades training opportunities and grow British Columbia’s skilled workforce.
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Last updated: June 15, 2026

About the Workforce Readiness Initiative

The B.C. Government’s Look West Strategy, Pillar one – Strengthening Our Workforce, focuses on investing in skills training to help build the workforce needed to support B.C.’s major projects over the next decade.

SkilledTradesBC is advancing this goal by investing in expanded capacity within the trades training system and strengthening support for apprentices across the province. Through improved access to training, enhanced pathways into the skilled trades, and stronger supports throughout the apprenticeship journey, SkilledTradesBC and its partners are helping to develop a resilient and highly skilled workforce. 

Building on these efforts, SkilledTradesBC has established the Workforce Readiness Initiative (WRI). Delivered in collaboration with eligible partners, the WRI aims to strengthen the apprenticeship workforce and support B.C.’s economic growth.

What the WRI Funds

The WRI supports projects that: 

  • Advance trades training in B.C.'s strategic economic sectors and major project areas

  • Improve apprenticeship progression, retention and completion outcomes

  • Strengthen capacity to deliver higher-quality, more accessible and expanded training opportunities, for Indigenous Peoples, rural and remote communities and equity-deserving groups

  • Support apprentices in overcoming barriers to completing their training

  • Enhance on-the-job training and apprenticeship pathways through partnerships between communities, training providers, unions and employers

Projects must include one or more of the following approaches: 

  • Development of a new initiative

  • Improvement of an existing program or project

Eligible Applicants

  • SkilledTradesBC designated funded training providers including public post-secondary institutions, union-affiliated training schools and designated specialized training institutions

  • Organizations delivering Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) programs in B.C. 

Eligible partners may collaborate on one project — one organization acts as the primary applicant. Organizations may submit more than one application for different projects.

How to Apply

Applications for the WRI are open June 15, 2026 and will be accepted until September 15, 2026 at 11:59pm PT.

This deadline applies to the first application intake for the WRI this financial year. Additional intakes may be scheduled later this financial year based on application volume and available funding.

STEP 1:        

Review the WRI Application Process, Requirements and Priority Framework document

STEP 2:  

Select the appropriate application form based on your proposed project funding amount. 

For Projects below $250,000: use this Application Form

For Projects at $250,000 up to $3,000,000: use this Application Form

STEP 3:  

Download the application form and complete it using your desktop or laptop. Do not fill out your form in your web browser, as your information may not save properly. 

Once completed, submit the application by email to [email protected]

SkilledTradesBC may request additional information during the review process to support assessment of proposals.