The Province of Ontario is providing nearly $420,000 in funding to support a free pre-apprenticeship training initiative for residents of Huron and Perth counties, Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae and Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson announced Wednesday.
Led by Stratford-based Technical Training Group, the initiative will offer training in Stratford, Listowel and Clinton to those interested in obtaining the skills and experience needed to get a good-paying job in the skilled trades.
“Our government is making it easier for people seeking a career in the trades to enter the workforce,” Thompson said in a press release. “This funding will contribute to the growth and overall health of this industry by supporting pre-apprenticeship programs. In doing so, we’re bringing these programs closer to home while helping numerous individuals start a lifelong, lucrative career in the trades – and positioning our region for future growth and economic prosperity.”
Rae said attracting more people to the skilled trades was critical to the province’s long-term plan to build 1.5-million new homes over the next decade.
“There are over 140 trades in Ontario offering good-paying jobs, including right here in Perth-Wellington,” Rae said.
The programs are tuition-free and allow the Technical Training Group to deliver welding, metal-fabricating and machining training from school tech classrooms in all three municipalities on evenings, weekends and whenever school is not in session. They also include an eight-week paid work placement with local employers that can lead to full-time employment and apprenticeship opportunities in the manufacturing sector.
“Technical Training Group is excited to be awarded funding again this year to deliver three 25-week manufacturing pre-apprenticeship programs in Huron and Perth counties,” Technical Training Group executive director Cavell Fraser said in the press release. “These pre-apprenticeship programs are a great example of government, business, education, community partners and industry working together to support our communities and change people’s lives.”
Given the Technical Training Group’s “great history” of providing this kind of training locally, Rae said he was confident it wold “continue to do a wonderful job of preparing our future tradespeople for a rewarding career.”
This funding is part of the provincial government’s nearly $1.5-billion skilled trades strategy, which includes investment in nearly 100 free pre-apprenticeship programs across the province to promote careers in the skilled trades to young people and help tackle Ontario’s historic labor shortage.