The Ontario government is providing $375,000 for apprenticeship training in the trades in North Bay that will help support upgrades to training facilities and equipment at Canadore College.
Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli made the announcement on Tuesday, saying the funding will help boost apprenticeship training at Canadore College and help more people in Nipissing get the skills to prepare for meaningful and well-paying careers in an in-demand industry.
The funding is part of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s $24-million investment in the Apprenticeship Capital Grant program, which helps improve and modernize equipment and training facilities that support hands-on learning for students and apprentices.
To help deliver the province’s ambitious infrastructure plans, including building 1.5 million homes by 2031, Ontario will need over 100,000 new skilled trades workers this decade.
“This investment will go towards attracting and retaining more students at Canadore College while delivering an essential curriculum on the General Machinist Apprenticeship Program,” said Fedeli. “Our government understands that investments like these will help Ontario’s next generation of apprentices gain the skills and experiences needed to become a successful tradesperson and build Ontario for the future.”
The goal is to help train people for rewarding careers as machinists. Canadore College has collaborated with its Program Advisory Committee (PAC) to develop strategies that meet industry standards. This proposal seeks funding for new Computer Numerical Control (CNC) equipment, which is critical to building upon existing shop equipment while bridging to other equipment acquisitions in Canadore’s Innovation Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Prototyping.
“Canadore College is helping to address the shortage of highly skilled tradespeople in Ontario," said George Burton, president/CEO of Canadore College. "The students in our trades programs graduate with the latest skills and are ready to go to work immediately. This funding support will help us to train machinists on the latest CNC equipment. This investment is another step in helping to address the skills shortage gap. We thank the Government of Ontario for its continued support.”
To tackle the ongoing labour shortage, Ontario is investing over $1 billion in the skilled trades over three years. In the spring, the government announced a 24 per cent increase in apprenticeship registrations — with women accounting for nearly 30 per cent of that increase — bringing the province to more than 91,000
active apprentices in total.
