Today, Andrew Dowie, MPP Windsor-Tecumseh, had a funding announcement in our Ford Centre of Excellence in Manufacturing (FCEM) lobby, joined by President France and members of College administration, faculty and second-year CAD/CAM students.
The Ontario government is investing over $650,000 to boost apprenticeship training at St. Clair College of Applied Arts and Technology and help more people in Windsor / Essex get the skills to prepare for meaningful and well-paying careers in an in-demand industry. 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.
"Once again our government is providing funding to support training and jobs," said Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie. "This Apprenticeship Capital Grant will help provide St. Clair College with the modern equipment it needs to train people for jobs in Windsor / Essex that are currently going unfilled", said Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie.
The investment will help people be trained for fulfilling and well-paying careers in skilled trades. 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.
"We're extremely fortunate, today, to have this support from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development," said St. Clair College President Patti France. "This grant of over six-hundred-and-fifty-thousand dollars to, specifically, replace some of our CNC machines, will ensure that our General Machinist apprenticeship training remains vibrantly up-to-date and accessible - benefitting both the program's enrollees and the industries which so urgently need their skills. These machines are also used by our Tool and Die and Mould-making students". "As such, this is not just an investment in the college ... It is an investment in the lives of our apprentices and students, in the efficiency of local manufacturing industries, and in the economic well-being of our community.
To tackle the ongoing labour shortage, Ontario is investing over $1 billion in the skilled trades over three years. This investment is part of the government's mission to make Ontario the best place in the world to live, work, and raise a family".
"When you have a career in the skilled trades, you have a career for life," said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. "Our government will continue to invest in the next generation of young people, ensuring apprentices can learn with quality tools and equipment as they prepare for the jobs of tomorrow."
In the spring, the government announced a historic 24 percent increase in apprenticeship registrations – nearly 30 percent among women – bringing the province to more than 91,000 active apprentices in total.
Quick Facts
- In 2023-24, 63 ministry-approved Training Delivery Agents across the province are being funded by the Apprenticeship Capital Grant program.
- By 2026, one in five job openings in Ontario are projected to be in the skilled trades.
- 1.3 million people are working in skilled trades-related occupations in Ontario.
- There are 144 skilled trades in Ontario.
- At least one in three workers with an apprenticeship or trades certificate is aged 55 years or over and nearing retirement.
- The Apprenticeship Capital Grant is supported by labour market transfer agreements between the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.
