What is the Training-on-the-Job Program?
Did you know as an Alberta employer, you can take advantage of the WCB’s Training-on-the-Job (TOJ) program to hire a new employee? Did you know that it can save you time, money and training costs while protecting you from a WCB claim due to any injury or re-injury? Did you also know that it can positively impact WCB premiums?
When a worker gets injured on the job it can sometimes lead to permanent work restrictions that prevent them from being able to return to their pre-accident position. In most cases, the injured worker still has many valuable transferable skills, education or experience that can make them a productive member of the workforce, they just need the opportunity to prove it.
WCB Alberta offers incentives to Alberta employers who provide job opportunities for injured workers that are unable to return to their pre-injury employment. Through the TOJ program, the WCB provides:
- Access to a skilled employment pool thereby reducing the time, energy and costs of recruitment
- Pre-screening to ensure a worker is a good fit for your organization
- A wage subsidy while a new worker is in training
- Assistance with identifying on-the-job training skills needed and working with you to establish a suitable training plan
- Coordination and cost coverage of external courses and training
- Arrangement and cost coverage of ergonomic assessments and workplace modifications that may be needed
- In-person support from a team of experienced professionals
- Protection from a WCB claim if the worker gets injured or reinjured during the TOJ program
The amount of financial assistance and duration of a TOJ program varies with each individual circumstance but the benefits to you and your new worker can be significant.
It is a win-win-win proposition. While your new employee develops confidence, skills and work experience, your organization receives financial assistance during their training period and the province benefits from the positive influence your organization has had on the impact of permanent work injuries in Alberta.
The cost of permanent injuries is significant and it is increasing. From 2014-2018, economic loss payment (ELP) costs rose 180% from $86 million to $249 million, representing an increase of workers needing permanent wage top-ups from 440 to 880. While there is no direct impact on your premiums by providing a TOJ, it does indirectly help manage the cost of permanent injuries in Alberta. Since ELP costs are factored into rate setting, any reduction in permanent wage-top ups will potentially lower base rates for all employers in the province.
Supporting permanently injured workers in their return to work can reduce the human and financial cost of permanent injuries. In the end, you have a fully-trained productive staff member contributing to your organization and you have played an integral part in helping an injured worker regain their footing in the work world.
Additional information about the TOJ program can be found on the WCB Alberta website here or you can always contact us directly, during business hours, using our chat feature or by phone at 1-844-377-9545, you can reach us by email at [email protected], [email protected], and you can always connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
