Ontario Helps People Prepare for a Career in the Skilled Trades
Local pre-apprenticeship training call for proposals open now
The Voice of Canada
Ontario’s Government for the People is helping individuals across the province prepare for successful careers in the skilled trades, so employers can get the skilled workers they need to make Ontario open for business.
“Ontario is open for business again. With one in five new jobs expected to be in trades-related occupations by 2021, we need to train more skilled workers to keep our economy strong,” said Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. “These programs get people ready for a rich and rewarding education and career in the skilled trades, by making them ready to work as apprentices.”
Each year, Ontario colleges and other community partners offer local training for people considering careers in the trades through the province’s Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program.
Pre-apprenticeship training helps people develop the trade-specific knowledge, job skills and work experience they need to get good jobs in high-demand trades. Local programs offer opportunities for training and experience that make Ontarians ready to work in trades-related jobs and to be hired as apprentices. These programs promote careers in the trades for all Ontarians, including new Canadians, women and Indigenous people.
“Ontario’s government is making sure people can build better futures for themselves and for our province,” said Minister Fullerton.
The government is investing $13.2 million to provide pre-apprenticeship training to approximately 1,200 people. Applications for funding to deliver programs are open now. Programs selected to provide training will be notified in January 2019 for projects to start in 2019. Approved programs last up to one year, and often combine level one apprenticeship training with a work placement, free training, textbooks, safety equipment and tools.
The Ontario Government introduced the proposed Making Ontario Open for Business Act to help modernize apprenticeship and reduce stifling regulatory burden in the skilled trades, creating more opportunities for apprentices and employers.
