Canadore College will get $3.4 million of government money to expand its class offering to include plumbing.
"The change means young people and job seekers in North Bay interested in pursuing rewarding careers as plumbers will be able to do so conveniently in North Bay," said MPP Vic Fedeli in a news release.
“When you have a job in the skilled trades, you have a job, and there is as much merit in plumbing as there is in law, medicine or accounting,” said Fedeli.
The Plumber 306A course is a review/refresher course intended for those who have acquired the theoretical and practical knowledge required to write the Certificate of Qualification exam for the Plumber licence.
The current wait time for northern Ontario apprentices in the plumber trade to attend school is approximately 17 months. Expanding this training means students in North Bay will be able to enter training significantly faster, and local employers will be able to find the apprentices they need to keep up with the growing demand.
There are currently more than 500 people working as plumbers in northeastern Ontario, where salaries can average over $65,000 a year. However, local employers continue to face a shortage of qualified apprentices, and demand for these workers is expected to increase.
By 2025, one in five jobs in Ontario is expected to be in the skilled trades.
Canadore already has the equipment and expertise in place for the plumbing curriculum, and the College has extensive experience delivering the Mechanical Techniques-Plumbing program.
There are 144 skilled trades in Ontario.
Data suggests that the need to replace retiring workers is greater for skilled trades workers than for other occupations. In 2016, nearly one in three journeypersons in Ontario were aged 55 years or older.
