TORONTO — The Ontario government has announced it is appointing Dave Cassidy, former president of Unifor Local 444, as a skilled trades special adviser to the minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development.
The adviser will assess the workforce needs in Ontario’s skilled trades, focusing on the manufacturing and automotive industries, including electric vehicles, stated a release. The province is expected to require over 500,000 additional workers in skilled trades-related occupations over the next decade.
As part of his new role, Cassidy will “work to ensure Ontario is well positioned to respond to the rapid development and expansion of our manufacturing and automotive sectors. His expert advice will be complemented by ongoing and robust stakeholder consultations which will serve to identify issues, challenges and areas of improvement within Ontario’s skilled trades and apprenticeship system,” stated the release.
Cassidy served as a member of Unifor’s national executive board since Unifor was founded and was elected to the National Skilled Trades Council as a trustee in 2005. He started his apprenticeship as an electrician after high school and was hired by Chrysler Canada in 1993. He became skilled trades chairperson at the Chrysler Windsor Assembly Plant.
“Ontario’s future is bright and skilled trades workers are a vital part of that future,” stated Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development David Piccini, “We need to prepare our skilled trades workforce for the jobs of today and tomorrow, and that begins with finding out where those jobs are and how we can build a talent pathway to fill them.”
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