Labour Market Development Agreement
Government Organization Act

INTENT

Labour Market Partnerships (LMP) is a program element under the Workforce Partnerships Program. It is intended to enhance workplace development and labour market adjustment strategies through community partnerships. Eligible Labour Market Partnerships are designed to identify, develop and support projects with industry, organizations and community groups with common labour market needs.

Effective collaboration among community partners improves the capacity of stakeholders to deal with workforce demand and to implement labour force adjustments. It contributes to the development of the labour market, which in turn, may result in an improved balance between the supply and demand as well as economic growth on a regional and/or provincial level.

The objectives of the LMP program are to:

• encourage, support and facilitate workforce planning and labour market adjustments.
• promote industry/community involvement and community capacity building in order to address labour market needs.
• develop and promote labour market intelligence and its use in labour market development.

POLICY

Eligible Projects

Projects eligible for LMP will support activities which address a labour market need, involve a partnership and are finite (i.e. project-specific).

Each project shall demonstrate an objective and define specific outcomes and timeframes. The projects must be able to achieve the identified objectives and outcomes using the grant and shall not become dependent on other/future grants.

Examples of activities that may be considered include:

Research and Analysis to:

• conduct a labour market environmental scan.
• develop profiles of the unemployed.
• identify labour market trends.
• analyze potential training needs and employment opportunities within a community or industry sector.
• create labour market profiles to anticipate and prepare for future prospects.
• track or assess labour market or community interventions.
• address the announcement of the eventual closure of a major community employer.

Planning to:

• assist a community or industry sector with the development of a strategic plan to prepare for future skill requirements and/or prevent skill shortage.
• develop an industry-based workforce plan to ensure employee skills are maintained.
• conduct a workforce planning initiative.

Promotion to:

• address a current labour market need.
• heighten awareness of labour market issues such as skill shortage through the dissemination of labour market information or a career awareness campaign.
• market new programs or services to address a labour market need within an industry sector or community.

Communications to:

• assist industry sectors or associations to share best practices in human resource development and career/employment training.
• conduct industry or community consultations that assist in improving human resource development and/or labour market adjustment needs.
• initiate discussions regarding community challenges and labour market opportunities.
• assist in the development and/or dissemination of industry or community-based labour market products to address an identified need.

Coordination to:

• facilitate community problem solving relating to labour market issues.
• support career fairs, career and employment conferences and job fairs only if the outcome will address a labour market need and improve the capacity of industries/communities to deal with human resource requirements and/or address labour market adjustment needs.

Ineligible Projects

Examples of activities not eligible to be supported include projects that:

• create a long-term funding dependency.
• will only benefit the Government of Alberta.
• involve the Government of Alberta or any other government as the primary recipient of goods and services (Products, plans and strategies produced through  LMP are for the use of the funding recipients and/or community partners/industry associations).
• duplicate and/or replace programs or services already provided by the Government of Alberta.
• duplicate information/education products already available in the community.
• include direct service delivery to individual clients.
• market or direct clients to provincial/federal programs.
• address union-management collective bargaining issues.
• assist employers, associations, training institutions and communities to develop their infrastructure and/or to cover day-to-day operational costs.
• involve community development or community capacity building activities that do not address an identified labour market need.
• support an educational institution in determining its training needs and/or develop curriculum. 
• assist business/industry in research related to new products or product development.
• provide funding to cover employee-training costs.

Outcomes

The expected outcomes for the LMP program include:

• projects meet and/or address a labour market need to enhance workforce development and labour market adjustments.
• workforce development and labour market adjustment strategies derived from the projects are implemented.
• stronger partnerships are developed between the Government of Alberta and communities/industry sectors relating to labour market planning and development.
• increased labour market intelligence and its dissemination.

The Government of Alberta will measure the success of all LMP projects based on both quantitative and qualitative results. Short-term and long-term measures will be identified and discussed with partners prior to project commencement.

Partnership

Labour Market Partnerships projects must include a minimum of three partners who are prepared to contribute to the project, preferably with representation from various segments of industry or community. The participating department of the Government of Alberta shall be considered as the government partner. Each partner is expected to assume an active role and to make a significant contribution (in-kind or monetarily) to the proposed project. This will ensure broad support for the project, its results and implementation of recommendations. There is no maximum limit to the number of partners involved in a LMP project.

While it is recognized that involvement of the Government of Alberta with LMP projects will vary based on local labour market needs, priorities will be given to:

• projects that align with Government of Alberta departmental priorities as well as regional and/or local priorities.
• industry sectors that are experiencing one or more of the following:
  • projected growth rate in high demand occupations;
  • current or emerging issues significantly impacting their workforce development requirements or labour market adjustment needs;
  • current or projected skill shortages; and/or
  • highest potential for value-added growth and innovation.

LMP projects are cost shared with partners. The Government of Alberta’s contribution amount will be determined based on:

• the degree of priority;
• local, regional or provincial conditions; and
• the ability of other partners to make financial and/or in-kind contributions.

Co-operative partnerships may be formed between partners such as:

• profit businesses;
• non-profit organizations or social agencies;
• industry associations/employer organizations;
• employee organizations;
• health and education providers (public and private);
• local planning groups/community action groups;
• charitable foundations;
• First Nations organizations;
• Métis organizations;
• other governments (municipal, provincial and federal); and
• others as deemed appropriate by the Government of Alberta.

Where possible, the financial value of in-kind contributions should be estimated and documented. All partners, whether contributing in-kind or monetarily, should be recognized appropriately for their contributions.

Duration/Enrollment

The LMP program is used to support short-term finite projects. The duration of funding should not exceed 24 months. The issue of sustainability should always be considered and discussed with partners prior to entering into a LMP grant agreement.

Program Evaluation

The Government of Alberta is responsible for the evaluation of LMP and ensuring reporting requirements are met.

PROCEDURE

Program Access/Entrance

All interested partners are required to submit written proposals to the Government of Alberta department responsible for the LMP.

Where possible, proposals should clearly outline the following information:

• project objective;
• scope/purpose of the project;
• duration of the project;
• proposed deliverables (i.e. what activities/services will be implemented with the proposed funds);
• proposed outcome(s);
• total cost of the project including the requested contribution from the department;
• a list of all partners involved with the project;
• a breakdown of the contributions from each partner (financial and in-kind);
• detailed information on how the project will sustain and not be reliant on future grants for success;
• a communications plan detailing how the information will be shared with the community or industry sector;
• risk management strategies;
• ability to carry out the project; and
• any relevant documentation that supports the need for the project.

When a LMP involves a financial contribution from the Government of Alberta, a formal agreement must be established using the department’s standard grant procedures. The grant may be with one of the partners acting on behalf of all partners or with a mutually agreed upon third party. Multiple, concurrent LMP projects are also acceptable, where appropriate.

In the event that an interested party has a concern with the grant decision, they may request a meeting with the grant manager.

Federal-Provincial Acknowledgement

In addition to provincial acknowledgement, under the Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA), Alberta is required to acknowledge the federal government’s contribution on materials produced or services provided with LMDA funding. The display of a logo or wording can be used to provide this recognition. However, federal identification must be comparable to that of the provincial government. That is, should provincial identification be evident in the form of a provincial logo, the “Canada” word-mark must also appear. To address this requirement, consultation with the grant manager is recommended.