A multi-million dollar investment aims to help 100,000 workers get free training to tackle the province's labour shortage.
On Friday, Ontario's Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development Monte McNaughton announced an additional $160 million investment in the Skills Development Fund.
The funding is meant to prioritize programs that propose innovative training solutions to help people on social assistance and with prior criminal records find meaningful employment in industries like healthcare, auto-manufacturing, information technology, hospitality, and the skilled trades.
According to the provincial government, more than 800,000 people in Ontario rely on social assistance. This includes many who are willing and able to work, but carry the stigma of a criminal record.
"For too long, too many in our community have been forgotten and treated as second class in their own province. In the middle of a historic labour shortage, we need all hands on deck," McNaughton said.
This latest round of funding is meant to support these prospective workers and help fill the approximately 300,000 jobs going unfilled across Ontario, the government said.
The announcement was made in Dresden, where the government announced a $465,000 investment through a previous round of the Skills Development Fund Training Stream, to prepare 24 young people for well-paying local careers in construction and the skilled trades.
"Through this transformative $465,000 investment, the Government of Ontario is shaping brighter futures for 24 youth in Chatham-Kent while invigorating our local construction industry," said Phillip Mock, Executive Director of Vision Us.
He added that the graduates of the program have all gone on to post-secondary education or to fill gaps in the labour market in Chatham-Kent.
Funding applications are now being accepted and will close on November 17, 2023. Interested organizations can apply through Transfer Payment Ontario. Organizations eligible for funding include employers, employment service and training providers, labour unions, community, business and industry organizations, municipalities, hospitals, Indigenous Band offices, Indigenous skills and employment training agreement holders and service system managers.
Friday’s announcement brings Ontario’s total investment in the Skills Development Fund Training Stream to over $860 million.
