GEORGINA, ONT. — The Ontario government is investing more than $4 million to support a local construction training program at a facility in the Town of Georgina, Ont.
The program, which aims to get more workers into the skilled trades and build affordable housing faster, will be run through SkillsAdvance Ontario.
The project will be led by Georgina Trades Training Inc. (GTTI) and will prepare up to 100 jobseekers for construction-related professions and use the skills learned to help build new modular housing units, indicates a release.
The Town of Georgina is supporting the project with $2.6 million in funding and is leasing the land that the housing units will be built on.
The new project is one of 50 current SkillsAdvance Ontario projects across the province, with five dedicated to skills training in the construction sector.
“This project shows how our government is partnering with local communities to address economic challenges and help more people find work in the trades,” said Monte McNaughton, minister of labour, training and skills development, in a statement. “Many communities have been hit hard by the pandemic, and as we continue to reopen Ontario’s economy, effective training initiatives will be an essential part of our efforts to get everyone back on the job.”
“Acute shortages in the skilled trades have become a serious problem for Ontario’s economy that requires bold, creative thinking to come up with solutions,” said John De Faveri, chair of GTTI. “Not only are we attracting and training post-secondary school graduates as well as multi-barrier candidates to consider a career in skilled trades, we are at the same time creating a unique model for municipalities that clearly speaks to affordable housing.”
GTTI will begin hiring staff for the project and finalize the training curriculum in the coming months, with the start of training projected for January 2021.
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