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Employment Insurance

Employment Insurance may be available to apprentices through the Government of Canada.

Information for Apprentices

You might be eligible for employment insurance while you're off work to attend classroom instruction.  

  • To be considered for EI benefits while attending classroom instruction, you must: 
    • continue working until the Friday before your classes start 
    • receive a Record of Employment indicating that you are leaving the workplace temporarily to participate in a government-approved apprenticeship training program
  • Apply as soon as you stop working.
    • If you have applied for, or are receiving EI benefits prior to classroom instruction, you must complete another application indicating your classroom instruction information.
    • Apprentices are required to provide complete and accurate information, as requested by Service Canada.
  • For more information

Reference Code for Alberta Apprentices

During the EI application process, apprentices need a Reference Code.

  • Find the code in your class registration letter, which you'll receive in your MyTradesecrets account after you register for classroom instruction.
    • To view the letter, they click on the Envelope icon in the top right corner of the screen, then click Classes in the Notification column.
    • The class registration letter opens up as a PDF.
    • The Reference Code for Alberta Apprentices is 2/3 of the way down the body of the letter.

Information for Employers

Provide your apprentice a Record of Employment for their Employment Insurance Application.

To receive Employment Insurance (EI) while off work to attend classroom instruction, your apprentice must provide a Record of Employment (ROE) issued to them in the past 52 weeks.

Make sure your apprentice gets an ROE from you as soon as possible after their last day of work

Apprentices must continue working until the Friday before their classes start to be eligible for EI.

  • Apprentices who wish to have time off for personal reasons prior to classes may not be eligible for EI benefits.
    • This is because they chose not to work, which means they left the workforce on their own.
  • If your apprentice wants to stop working before the Friday before their classroom training starts, the reason for leaving on the ROE reflect this.