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STONEY CREEK – Today, David Piccini, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, highlighted an innovative program preparing people for jobs in the skilled trades.
Ontario is funding local programs at colleges and community organizations to offer training and experience for trades-related jobs and apprenticeships. Ontario’s Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program helps people gain the knowledge, basic job skills and valuable work experience to secure good, well-paying jobs.
Pre-apprenticeship programs also promote careers in the trades for all Ontarians, including newcomers, youth, women and Indigenous people.
“Our government is committed to helping people develop the skills and knowledge to get good jobs in high-demand trades,” said David Piccini, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. “By expanding funding for pre-apprenticeship training, we are preparing more people for potential careers in the skilled trades and helping employers get the talent they need to support their businesses.”
The Ontario government has helped over 164 people in the Hamilton area, including Stoney Creek, prepare for good local jobs in the skilled trades and ensured employers have the skilled workforce they need to make Ontario open for business and open for jobs.
Funding has supported nine local projects, including:
- Training provided by Mohawk College for jobs related to refrigeration and air conditioning systems and sheet metal.
- A new program from LiUNA Local 837 that helped trainees develop skills in construction craft and cement finishing.
- A project from YWCA Hamilton aimed at women exploring careers as general machinists and in the industrial mechanic millwright trades and providing training to overcome gender-biased hiring barriers.
“Mohawk College and our partners are focused on creating job-ready graduates to meet the needs of our employer community,” said Ron McKerlie, President of Mohawk College. “Pre-apprenticeship training is a proven way to give students practical experience in skilled trades on the road to successful careers. In the process, it creates effective employees for hundreds of companies in the Hamilton area. We are grateful to the Government of Ontario for its support of these important training programs.”
The Ontario government recently passed the Modernizing the Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Act, 2019 as part of the Protecting What Matters Most, 2019 Budget Act to help transform the skilled trades and apprenticeship system, reduce red tape and make Ontario open for business and open for jobs.