Starting June 30, Ontario training centres can apply to a $224-million provincial fund to upgrade their facilities, in an effort to get more workers employed in the skilled trades.
On that date, the Capital Stream of the Skills Development Fund will open to applications from unions, Indigenous centres and industry associations that are looking to build new training centres, or upgrade and convert existing facilities into new training centres with modernized equipment and technology.
The province first announced the initiative in March.
“Ontario is facing the largest labour shortage in a generation, and our government is on a mission to help workers train for the well-paying jobs we know are available,” Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said in a news release.
“We will continue to invest in innovative training programs and groundbreaking infrastructure to prepare jobseekers in every corner of our province for the future of work.”
Another $535,000 from the Skills Development Fund is being provided for two projects — led by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 128 — that will expand apprenticeship opportunities to future boilermakers in Northern Ontario and across the province.
The first project will give 1,200 high-school students hands-on experience with welding, cutting and rigging work and the opportunity to pursue apprenticeships in the trade. It will prioritize women, Indigenous people and others in rural Northern Ontario communities interested in learning about work in the skilled trades.
The second project will provide free lodging, travel and food for 150 new jobseekers from around the province as they begin introductory apprenticeship training. Participants will complete rigorous coursework covering rigging, working at heights and construction safety as they prepare to become boilermaker apprentices.
Boilermakers assemble, install, maintain and repair boilers, closed vats, and other large vessels or containers that hold liquids and gasses. The trade, which is in demand in construction, manufacturing shipbuilding, mining and other industries, can pay upwards of $38 per hour.
Applications to the Skills Development Fund Capital Stream will be accepted until September 25. More information is available here.