The Ontario government announced on December 6 that it will seed a second round of programs under the Skills Catalyst Fund—to the tune of $20 million.

The funding, which will triple existing allocations to the program, will help generate more training partnerships between industry and job seekers to get workers skills-based training and connect them with employers.

"Nearly one in five jobs over the next five years will be in the skilled trades," said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. "We are looking to industry and other partners for innovative solutions to help solve this skills gap."

In order to qualify for funding, companies will need to form partnerships and demonstrate innovative approaches to training and workforce development.

"We need to prepare our children and other young workers for the jobs of tomorrow," said McNaughton. "Careers in the trades are meaningful, exciting and well-paying. This is just one of the ways we will help young workers and employers succeed in a rapidly-changing world."

Since the Skills Catalyst Fund was launched in January 2018, it has facilitated 20 training projects. One of those launched through the Ontario Masonry Training Centre (OMTC). Still ongoing, the program has helped introduce more than 270 middle- and high-school aged students in Windsor, Ottawa, Kingston and the GTA to the trade.

“We started the program in Windsor in 2015, and used the funding from the Skills Catalyst Fund to launch it in other areas of the province,” says Sandra Skivsky, director, marketing & business development at OMTC. “It’s been very successful.”

OMTC’s program runs in partnerships with local school boards. Spaces are selected and retrofitted to accommodate the training program, and teachers work alongside instructors from the masonry industry to help students learn the basics of the trade. The program prepares the students ideally to enter the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, By the time they finish any post-secondary training in the trade, they qualify as full journeypersons.

“The students love the program, and the schools we work with report lower levels of absenteeism,” says Skivsky. “Bigger picture, the program gives students a real sense of what life is like in the trades, and the prospects in store for them if they choose to make a career in our industry. It also helps to increase inclusivity among under-represented groups like girls and women.”

Not all students who go through OMTC’s program enter the masonry trade, she adds. But when they see the range of opportunities on offer to them, they begin to understand the avenues and the pathways they can follow.

“If we want to move the needle on bringing more young people into the trades, programs like these are what we should be investing in,” says Skivsky. She adds that OMTC may consider applying for a second round of funding through the program in light of the announcement.

The government will launch a call for proposals for the next round of funding in the coming weeks.