Ontario funding skilled trades training centres
By Adam Freill
Construction LabourNew provincial fund projected to help train more than 1,000,000 workers for trades in need of skilled workers.
The Ontario government has pledged $224 million to build and upgrade training centres to help tackle the province’s historic labour shortage. Applications for the new Skills Development Fund (SDF) Capital Stream will open on June 30.
The fund is structured to help unions, Indigenous centres, and industry associations with funding to build new training centres, or to upgrade and convert existing facilities into new training centres with state-of-the-art equipment and technology.
“This new program will help boost the province’s training infrastructure, providing more people opportunities to learn new skills and advance their careers into good-paying, in-demand jobs,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We’re taking the steps needed to create a bigger pipeline of talent to ensure we continue to have the best workforce in the world to keep attracting investments and to build Ontario.”
The province estimates that roughly 300,000 jobs are going unfilled in Ontario, costing the province billions in lost productivity. To address that gap, the new capital stream will be open to a wide range of applicants in in-demand industries and support facility expansions, renovations, repairs and retrofits, and new building construction. It is expected that over the lifespan of the training centres built or upgraded through the funding, more than one million workers will get training to land better jobs and ensure businesses can find the skilled workforce they need.
“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,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “We will continue to invest in innovative training programs and ground-breaking infrastructure to prepare jobseekers in every corner of our province for the future of work.”
“Our government is proud to invest in new funding to build, upgrade and convert training centres across the province,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “Investing in these training centres is crucial to building a stronger Ontario by getting workers trained and into the workforce.”
The SDF Capital Stream applications open on June 30 and will be accepted until September 25, 2023. For details, visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/available-funding-opportunities-ontario-government.
