Ontario announces $1.5M investment for skilled trades training

The Ontario government is making a $1.5 million investment, in three training programs aimed at attracting young workers in northwestern Ontario to the skilled trades. 

Monte McNaughton, the minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, was in Thunder Bay on Tuesday to make the announcement. 

The training programs are designed to prepare Indigenous workers for careers in fields such as carpentry and electrical work — something McNaughton said is essential given the shortage of workers in the trades. 

"By 2025, one in five jobs will be in the trades. And that's really relevant here in northern Ontario with the expansion of mining and forestry and other sectors," McNaughton said. "So its important we train the next generation of workers."

Over 21,000 jobs are going unfilled in northern Ontario, and demand is continuously growing, the government stated in a release. 

The programs being funded include two pre-apprenticeship training projects run by Anishinabek Employment and Training Services (AETS) in partnership with the Carpenters Union Local 1669 and Confederation College, as well as a program run by Kiikenomaga Kikenjigewen Employment and Training Services (or KKETS). 

Evan Reid, the president of Carpenters Local 1669 Training Centre, and local union coordinator, said he looks forward to seeing more young workers take advantage of opportunities to learn the skills needed to enter the trades. 

Reid said apart from the practical eligibility requirements for the programs, the most important quality for prospective students is a desire to learn.

"The biggest thing it starts with is an interest, if you have an interest and willingness to learn, and move forward in this career path," he said.

Reid said they've already had many successful candidates go though the programs, which include classroom learning and a work placement.

Ronald Fox, from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation (also known as Big Trout Lake), is one of them. 

"First of all, I was able to learn new skills and provide for myself out here," Fox said, adding he plans to stay in Thunder Bay, but wants to take all that he has learned to share with his community by teaching them his skills to pass along.