Summary
Today, Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, joined by Deepak Anand, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister and MPP for Mississauga-Malton, announced that our government is investing over $3 million to create a virtual training hub that will help construction supervisors learn the skills they need to mentor and train their team. The funding will also go towards the creation of an online job bank that will help up to 200 laid-off and unemployed workers find good jobs in construction.
This initiative will support Merit Ontario, an organization that supports contractors who employ both unionized and non-unionized workers, in developing and running a virtual training and resource hub that helps 225 small, medium and large construction companies bring their training programs online. The hub will also offer courses and resources to train supervisors so they can provide improved skills and safety training for their workers.
Key Messages
· As Ontario safely and steadily reopens, we are seeing growing demand for construction workers with more skilled trades workers retiring than in other occupations and one in three journeypersons being age 55 years or older.
· That’s why our government is proud to invest $3 million to help create a virtual training and resource hub that will support 225 construction companies across Ontario.
· Led by Merit Ontario, this hub will help construction employers create digital training programs to training workers on how to advance in their careers.
· The project will also create a digital job bank to help 200 job seekers find employment in the construction sector.
· The training is free and runs until June 30, 2022. Interested construction employers and workers from across Ontario can apply for this new program at http://www.meritontario.com.
· This program is funded by Ontario’s $115 million Skills Development Fund, which supports innovative projects that improve access to the tools that workers and apprentices need to get back to work quickly
· With over 13,300 jobs open in construction across Ontario in the first quarter of 2021, our government will continue to invest in programs like these to help people fully participate in training and be part of the jobs of the future