Announced Wednesday, Ontario will invest an additional $90 million over three years to further promote the skilled trades to young people, responding to the Apprenticeship Youth Advisors report, which includes several recommendations to help solve the shortage of skilled workers Ontario is currently facing. Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, and Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education announced the details and added an additional $2.9 million, for a total of $20 million annually, to expand the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) and provide more opportunities for students.
By 2025, it’s estimated as many as one in five jobs in Ontario will be in the skilled trades, but the average age of people entering the trades is 29. Also, a third of tradespeople are nearing retirement, meaning the province is projected to face a shortfall of 100,000 construction workers over the decade.
To encourage employers to take on more apprentices, the province’s investments in achievement incentives and pre-apprenticeship training will increase to over $77 million annually, starting in 2022-2023. The achievement incentive will also focus on hiring apprentices from underrepresented groups, including women, BIPOC people, newcomers, Francophones and people with disabilities. Pre-apprenticeship program participants can also receive living allowances for costs like rent and childcare.
These initiatives bring the government’s total investment in the province’s Skilled Trades Strategy to approximately $1.5 billion between 2020 and 2024. They build on the government’s ongoing efforts to attract, support and protect workers, making Ontario the top place in the world to work, live and raise a family.