Yet another couple questions for the ATC gurus's here. Has anyone ever applied for and received EI while undergoing training?

As well, my wife is pregnant and I would be eligible for parental leave EI benefits, however you can't be "working" during your parental leave. Does anyone know if ATC training is classified as "working" since I would not be receiving a paycheque? I was planning on taking a parental leave from my current employer anyways but if I am offered a course, I am planning on using my leave time to do my training, and that way I can go back to my current job if I don't pass.

Thanks!

I would be interested in this as well!

I could be wrong, but this is my take on the situation. I think you'd be good on parental leave EI only...

You're paying Nav Canada to go to school for the duration of your course (you'll be issued a T2202). If you're on parental leave, I think you're allowed to do (almost) anything that you like. In contrast, if you were laid off and were collecting what's called regular EI, then going to school full time isn't allowed since you're supposed to be looking for a new job.

I think it is terrible that I have been paying into EI for years and when I could really use it the most, they won't give it to me. I think that if you leave a job to pursue a better opportunity whether it be training or not, you should be entitled to your own paid benefits.

After doing further research, it looks like you can't claim EI for this training. You have to have lost your job through no fault of your own (layoffs, company closing, etc.) for you to get the benefits.

As to claiming parental leave benefits, it might be possible, as I've been reading conflicting information. I guess I'll have to call Service Canada to get the facts on that one.

As an update for those waiting for green lights/courses, I spoke with a recruitment coordinator today who was very helpful and answered some questions:

1. They have not finalized their fall course schedule yet (for all regions).. maybe a month or two before they know fall course dates.

2. If you are streamed IFR (like me), you can still be offered a VFR or FSS course. If you are streamed VFR, you can only be offered VFR or FSS and if you are streamed FSS you can only be offered an FSS course. They stream you based on your highest qualification determined by your interviews, aptitude tests, etc.

3. She said NavCanada is very accommodating with regards to turning down a course due to family reasons (birth of a child, illness, etc.). It is especially important to advise them of any changes with regards to availability for course dates, so they don't keep calling you and having you turn them down due to whatever reason. Just let them know when you are available again and you're back on the list of prospective people to call for a course.

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Legacy14 wrote:it is intended to be a partial income replacement while you are away from work.

That's the key. I don't know if ATC training counts as "work." I've read lots of cases of where mothers on maternity leave and fathers on parental leave take on further education without penalty, but perhaps it must be from an accredited educational institution (which I don't believe NavCan is). If I find out more, I'll post it here.

Depends on your definition of accredited. I contacted NL Student Loans asking if they consider NavCanada to be accredited for loans and to my very big surprise they said yes. Initially they were not on the list but apparently NavCanada is on the Canadian master list for designated institutions.

If you live in Ontario you can claim OSAP whilst on the initial unpaid section of training.
I don't know how much you'd get, but I imagine it's worth filling out the forms to get a low cost loan that you don't have to pay back until you're earning a decent salary.

Other options are Student loans and Life long saving plan. I used this approach to fund my training and was able to borrow tax free from my RRSP.

I don't know how it would work for parental leave, but I was able to collect regular EI while I was on course. I had been laid off in January and my course started the beginning of April, so I was already collecting prior to my course. I can't remeber the exact details, and it may have changed in the 8 years since, but I was able to present a case that the training would lead to guaranteed employment on completion, and that there were no other institutes that could offer the training. Talk to Employment Services, they helped me put together the paperwork for the request to continue collecting while in training. I was told it also helped that I was just looking to continue collecting, and not asking them to pay my tuition fee(which they also can do upon request). You can also look into Second Career programs for financial assistance.

my two cents
W&P