Six construction worker training, recruiting projects split $4M in Ontario funding

The Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development is backing a half dozen programs for current and future tradespersons.

Monte McNaughton, the minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, joined labour leaders in London, Ont. June 21 to share details of $4 million in provincial funding for a series of construction training and recruitment initiatives.

Six projects will share in the funding, awarded through Ontario’s $115 million Skills Development Fund. The programs include:

• A pre-apprenticeship program for 460 workers administered by the Ontario Ironworkers District Council. The two-week in-class and eight-week work placement program will train workers on rodworking, often used in transit and light rail bridge construction.
• The Tomorrow’s Trades project will introduce nearly 100 underrepresented youth in Hamilton, London, Ottawa and Sudbury to the skilled trades. The program includes 12 weeks of both hand-on training and work placement in areas such as carpentry, electrical, pipe trades, sheet metal and ironworking.
• The Building and Construction Tradeswomen project, designed to attract more women to the trades through marketing and free training.
• New equipment purchases for Ironworkers Local 759 in Thunder Bay. The equipment will be used in training, testing and certifying 140 apprentices and journeypersons.
• Development of a new “one-stop” online learning system aimed at helping those interested in the skilled trades build skills that will allow them to join the industry.
• A research project at the De Novo Treatment Centre in Huntsville studying ways to help training centres, unions and employers better provide support for addiction and suicide in construction.