StrongerBC future skills grant

The StrongerBC future skills grant is for British Columbians aged 19 years or older – regardless of financial need – and covers up to $3,500 in eligible short-term skills training at public post-secondary institutions.

FSG applications for Fall 2024 are now closed.

FSG Material Reimbursement Claims are open.
Submission deadline is Friday, November 22, 2024, 4:00pm PST

If you're interested in being notified about potential funding opportunities for Spring 2025 courses, click the button below. We will keep you informed as soon as updates are available.

Stay Informed

Student Eligibility

To be eligible for the future skills grant, you:

  • Must be a Canadian Citizen, a Permanent Resident, or a Protected Person entitled to study in Canada
  • Must be a B.C. resident currently living in British Columbia
  • Must be 19 years of age or older or have graduated from grade 12 or equivalent
  • Must provide consent for ECU to collect and disclose personal information that is relevant to accessing the StrongerBC future skills grant to the provincial government
  • Should not be receiving duplicative and/or overlapping funding to cover eligible costs (i.e. grants, loans, scholarships, or other funding that covers the same program costs as the StrongerBC future skills grant

You should also understand that:

  • The future skills grant benefits may have tax implications. Please consult the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for tax advice
  • The grant is subject to a lifetime maximum of $3,500
  • If you are receiving any federal or provincial benefit, such as Employment Insurance (EI) or B.C. Employment Assistance (BCEA), you must seek approval from the appropriate government body before participating in a program
  • The amount of funding received is subject to review and audit
  • You can apply for a maximum of 3 eligible courses per term.
  • You must have adequate funds available to cover the full cost of tuition plus the maximum reimbursement for course materials. A hold will be placed on your FSG funds for the maximum cost of the course. If your material reimbursement request is less than the total hold placed on your FSG account, remaining funds will be released for future use.
  • Complete both the ECU course application and the StrongerBC future skills grant online at least 7 days before the course start date. Applications that are submitted after this time frame will not be processed.
  • This grant cannot be applied retroactively. We are unable to issue refunds to individuals who have already registered for courses eligible for grant funding.

Waitlist
For courses that have already reached a maximum number of registered seats, you can choose to be placed on a waitlist. If a seat becomes available, CS staff will contact you with further information.

Course cancellations
In the event that a course is cancelled, CS staff will contact you with further information.

Course withdrawals
General Continuing Studies registration policies apply.

Our Materials Guides provide information about what is required and/or recommended to purchase in order to fully participate in the course. Only materials listed in the guide are eligible for reimbursement from your $3500 lifetime limit of FSG funds.

  1. Find the Materials Guide for your course.
  2. Look for the approved reimbursement amount for materials listed for your course.
  3. The hold placed on your FSG funds includes the tuition fee and material costs, plus tax.
  4. Track your expenses per course, and keep all your original receipts.*

*Note: expenses that exceed the maximum amount for the course will not be reimbursed. Additionally, expenses that exceed your $3500 lifetime limit will not be reimbursed.

Applying for material reimbursement

Claims are open for Fall 2024 FSG eligible courses.

What to expect for the reimbursement process:

  • The reimbursement claims form will be available starting October 15 2024 through November 22 2024.
  • Reimbursement will be issued by electronic funds transfer (direct deposit) to a Canadian institution, or by cheque.
  • Please allow up to 4 weeks for processing and reimbursement.

Start preparing for your reimbursement claim now:

  • Gather all receipts for materials you purchased and sort them by course. We can only reimburse you for items and amounts you have receipts for.
  • Review the course material guide to make sure all materials you are claiming are listed as required and/or recommended. Only materials listed in the guide are eligible for reimbursement
  • Use your ECU account to login to the claim form. View more information about your ECU email account.
  • You will need to fill out one claim per course.

Receipt Requirements:

  • Make sure you are submitting an acceptable receipt. This means:
    • It clearly shows an itemized list of materials purchased after August 6th 2024.
    • It clearly shows the vendor name, date, subtotal, taxes, total and payment method. Payments made by debit or credit card should include debit/credit card receipts as well as itemized receipts.
    • If the receipt is in a foreign currency, include a copy of the credit card statement showing the currency exchange rate and the Canadian dollar amount charged.
    • Click to view examples of acceptable receipts.
  • If your receipt includes ineligible items, identify the eligible items on the receipt by circling them.
  • Tally the eligible items, including tax, and confirm the total does not exceed the maximum approved reimbursement amount for your course.
  • Take a photo or digitally scan paper receipts into jpg, png, or PDF formats.
  • If you have multiple receipts, you can upload multiple files per claim submission, but they must all be contained within a single folder or file.
Start your claim