Sivuniksaliurniq and other training for unemployed Participants

The Income Support Program offers supports to unemployed participants willing to take on training and spend time in other productive activities. These training opportunities might be found by the Participant and then approved by your Income Support Worker.Others might be organized and offered by the Income Support Program. Some of these opportunities are offered under Sivuniksaliurniq, a series of training initiatives designed to build skills at the community level.

Benefits
Unemployed Income Support Participants funded under Sivuniksaliurniq or engaged in other training may be eligible to receive the following:

• Books, tools, safety clothing, other special equipment or training materials.
• Living Away from Home Allowance - The Participant must be maintaining a permanent residence in addition to paying for accommodations where they are training. Each Participant will be evaluated to determine the monthly payment.
• Living Allowance - Each Participant will be evaluated to determine the monthly payment.
• Transportation - Income Support will pay the actual cost of transportation to and from the training location and the Participant’s home community. Also covered is the least expensive means of ground transportation directly related to training.  Other return travel, such as for a semester break, may be authorized.
• Supports for Disabilities - Income Support will make every effort to accommodate persons with disabilities. The Director of Career and Early Childhood Services must review and approve this for financial support.
• Dependent Day Care - Day care costs for dependent children 11 years old and under, related to training maybe covered. A spouse is not allowed to receive this subsidy for looking after the Participant’s children.
• Tuition - participants receiving Income Support may be eligible for tuition costs to attend a course of 11 weeks or less at an accredited institute of learning. This benefit is not available to those who qualify for Financial Assistance for Nunavut Students (FANS) or have been disqualified from receiving FANS.  Tuition is not a benefit associated with training projects under Sivuniksaliurniq.

Under circumstances where significant income is provided to an unemployed Participant for their training or education, families remaining in the home community will continue to receive Income Support benefits.  However, the benefit can be reduced by the amount previously allocated to the person now receiving training.This provides the incentive for the training to be successful.

If the training program is taking place in the recipient’s home community there is a maximum monthly benefit that your Income Support Worker can tell you more about.

Maximum payments and acceptable forms of proof (e.g. receipts) apply to most benefits.

To qualify
To qualify, Participants must:

• Be unemployed
• Be receiving Income Support as a recipient or the spouse or adult dependent of a recipient
• Complete an Income Support Agreement with an Action Plan that you and your Income Support Worker have agreed upon.

To apply
Income Support will often advertise training opportunities. You may apply for these as instructed in the advertisement.

If you have identified a training opportunity that you believe might qualify, speak to your Community Income Support Worker.