Eligibility

Skills investment program eligibility requirements:

Personal status:

  • You must be 18 years of age or older by the first day of training.
  • You must have been out of regular high school (including outside Canada) for a period of 12 consecutive months.
  • You must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or Convention Refugee
    Note: Sponsored Immigrants will be assessed for funding for tuition and books only. Living costs are the responsibility of your sponsor.
  • You must be in financial need according to Alberta Works criteria
    For example, if you have a large amount of savings, or your spouse has a high-paying job, you may not be eligible.

 Current education / work status:

  • You must currently be unemployed or underemployed.
  • You can not voluntarily quit work, or reduce your work hours to attend school.
  • If you are presently working, you may still be eligible for funding. However, you may need to be referred to an Alberta Works office to explore other options before leaving your present employment. You will need to discuss why your current work is not sustainable (for example, you have had many temporary, unskilled jobs). If they agree that your present employment is not sustainable, you may be authorized to leave your employment, or reduce your hours, to attend school.
  • You must be looking for full-time work and must submit a current resume and three month job search.
  • Not have applied for and been awarded a student loan for the same program/term dates.
  • Demonstrate that you have carefully planned your return to school.
  • You must make good academic progress and attend regularly to continue on funding.

Academic history:

  • If you are (a) currently attending, (b) have recently attended another school on funding or (c) are on provincial income support, your current case manager should agree with your plan to come to Mount Royal.
  • You can not use funding to re-take courses that you have previously passed to get a better mark, or previous courses taken while on full-time Alberta Works funding.
  • If you were on Skills Investment /Skills Development/ Alberta Works funding in the past, your previous performance will be reviewed.

If you are currently receiving Employment Insurance benefits or have received EI in the past three years (or five years, if it was a maternity or parental claim), you may qualify for Employment Insurance funding, which has different eligibility criteria, as follows:

  • You must have an Alberta address. If you have recently moved to Alberta, you must have been looking for work in Alberta before you apply for funding for training.
  • If you are presently on EI, you must be on regular benefits.
  • If you are currently on sick, parental, maternity or compassionate care benefits, you are not eligible. You should explore switching to regular benefits with an EI representative or other options with Alberta Human Services.
  • You must show financial need according to Alberta Works criteria to qualify for funding for tuition, books and living costs.
  • If you have a large amount of savings or large household income, you may not be eligible. However, you may still receive approval to attend school and receive your normal EI benefits; you will have to pay your own tuition, books and living costs.

Students who live on reserve:

  • If you are living on reserve or you ordinarily live on reserve (consider your reserve a home base and live there a few days a month).
  • Your finances will be assessed to determine your eligibility for tuition and books only.
  • You should be able to access Learner Benefits Income Support through your band’s Income Support Worker (this is different than your band’s Post-Secondary Funding Worker).

Funding provided by Alberta Human Services

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Questions about your student loan? Chat live with a Financial Aid Advisor Tues. 10-11:30a.m. and Fri. from 2:30-4p.m. To contact us outside of chat hours, call 403.440.6223.