more than 20 hours per week within the last three months and plan to quit or reduce hours to attend training, or
consistently (part or full-time) for more than three months and plan to quit or reduce hours to attend training, you are required to seek Counsel to Leave Employment (CLE) from your local AE&I office to attend training and you must apply for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits (whether or not you think you qualify).
Please note: If you have been working less than 20 hours per week for less than three months in total, the CLE process will not apply to you and you will be considered a non-EI applicant (job search required). The CLE process allows students to quit their jobs to attend training and possibly remain eligible to receive EI benefits. Without this CLE, students who simply choose to quit employment to attend training will not qualify for EI benefits and may not be eligible for SIP funding.
Important: Your CLE letter means you are no longer required to provide job search as part of the Career Research Package. Please provide a copy of your CLE letter instead.
All Counsel to Leave Employment letters state you must remain employed up to two weeks prior to the start date of the program. Should you leave your employment sooner than this stated time period, your CLE is no longer valid and you will not be eligible to receive EI benefits and may not be eligible to receive SIP funding. Once you have finished work, you are required to bring your CLE letter and your Record of Employment (you should receive this from your employer) to your local EI office to apply for EI benefits.
To access CLE to attend training and receive EI and/or SIP, please follow these steps:
You need to be registered into your ELF program or accepted into your SAIT upgrading, certificate or diploma program.
Go to MC221 (HeartBuilding, Main Campus) to request an SIP Referral Letter for CLE. One can also be requested through email.
Attend your CLE appointment and be sure to provide the start and end date of your registered SAIT program.
Once you receive your CLE letter:
If you are an ELF applicant, proceed to STEP 3 of the SIP Application Process for ELF and continue through the application process.
If you are an upgrading, or eligible SAIT certificate or diploma applicant, proceed to STEP 2 of the Application Process for Certificates & Diploma programs and continue through the application process.
STEP 1 - Review the basic eligibility criteria To be eligible for SIP funding, the following criteria must be met:
You must be an Alberta resident at the time of application.
You must be 18 years of age at the start of your program.
You have been out of high school for 12 or more consecutive months.
Students requesting ESL funding through the Skills Investment (SIP) for English Language Foundations (ELF) at SAIT must provide information (card or letter) from ILVARC indicating their current benchmark levels and how much LINC programming they have taken. Technically, SIP applicants should exhaust all LINC hours prior to applying for SIP funding for ELF at SAIT. LINC programming should bring a student to Level 5 Reading/Writing and Level 6 Listening/Speaking. However, if an applicant is able to prove (via ILVARC letter) that they either cannot access LINC on a full time basis due unavailable programs/waitlists and part time training is not a viable option, they may be considered for SIP funding for ELF.
You will be/are attending full-time study.
If you are currently unemployed: You must be prepared to provide documentation showing that you've been looking for work for a minimum of 3-6 months (since date of unemployment). Your job search should demonstrate that you have applied for an average for 30+ jobs, per month of unemployment, in a variety of fields for which you think you would qualify. Job search activities will be checked for authenticity, so please be prepared to provide proof of application.
If you are currently employed, review the Counsel to Leave Employment process, to see you are applicable. If not, please continue with the steps below.
You must ready, willing and able to attend training.
You are in financial need.
If funded, you must make acceptable progress and attend regularly.