Students looking for careers in the trades will be helped along by an investment by the Ontario government.
Nine Windsor-Essex secondary schools will receive a total of $748,000 for the purchase of high-tech machines. The funding was announced Thursday by Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie and Essex MPP Anthony Leardi.
"Careers in the skilled trades are lucrative, well-paying, and rewarding," said Leardi. "This investment will help put young students on the path to critical and rewarding careers, and I am thrilled to see that in our region."
Deliveries of the machinery started in November 2022 and consist of CNC milling centres, lathes, plasma cutters, CNC desktop milling machines, high-precision conventional milling machines, and lathes with readouts. The schools are also receiving new toolkits and cutting tools.
Dowie said the equipment is vital to supporting the trades in Windsor-Essex.
"Advanced manufacturing is the backbone of our economy in Windsor and Essex County, and there are incredible opportunities available today to establish rewarding careers in the sector right here at home in Windsor-Essex," said Dowie. "This investment by our government to bring industry equipment right into our neighbourhood schools will greatly support our youth and young adults in their path to a tremendous and prosperous future."
The nine schools receiving equipment are in the Greater Essex County District School Board, except for St. Anne's Catholic High School in the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board. They are Belle River District, Kingsville District, North Star, Riverside Secondary, Vincent Massey Secondary, the W.F. Herman Academy, and the Westview Freedom Academy.
The funding is provided through the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development, with its Skills Development Fund.
