The Ontario government has announced it will invest more than $26 million to build a new training centre at LiUNA 183’s skilled trades training campus in Vaughan.

Funding for the project comes from the province’s new $224-million Skills Development Fund (SDF) Capital Stream.

With the new training centre, LiUNA 183 will be able to train nearly 50,000 additional new workers for in-demand careers in construction across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), such as bricklaying, heavy equipment operators and concrete finishing.

“I’m so pleased that we are able to work with LiUNA 183 to help nearly 50,000 additional workers from across the GTA access the skills and training they need to find better jobs and bigger paycheques in the skilled trades,” said Premier Doug Ford.

As part of the project, LiUNA 183 will build a new industrial workshop and new classrooms on their Vaughan campus to deliver both hands-on and in-class training, as well as a renovated union hall with increased capacity for the new workers and apprentices. LiUNA’s Vaughan skilled trades campus delivers their largest training program in Canada and offers students the opportunity to build a full-size two-storey residential home within the centre.

The LiUNA Local 183 Training Centre provides apprenticeship training, construction skills training and health and safety training at six sites including Vaughan, Cobourg, Toronto, Barrie, Kingston and Cambridge.

Once complete, the training centre will increase access to apprenticeship training by up to 40 percent for people to gain new skills and train for successful jobs, including women, youth, and other underrepresented groups.

"As our membership now surpasses more than 70,000 members, the demand for a highly skilled and versatile workforce continues to grow,” said LiUNA 183 business manager Jack Oliveira. “To meet this demand, we have made significant improvements to our training facilities at our Vaughan campus, including a new Tunnel Rescue and Training Centre, to ensure every member has the necessary specialized training to perform work safely and effectively. With this investment through the Skills Development Fund Capital Stream, we will be able to double the capacity of our campus, further enhance our training facilities and bring more young men and women into the construction industry. "

The government says this initiative is an example of how it is partnering with labour organizations, employers, and local organizations through the SDF Capital Stream to increase their capacity to train and upskill workers for in-demand careers in the trades by building, expanding, and repairing training facilities.

Applications are currently open for the government’s fifth round of SDF Training Stream with up to $260 million in available funding.

Since its launch in 2021, the stream has aimed to help almost 600,000 workers train for in-demand sectors, including over 66,000 construction workers, over 92,000 manufacturing workers and over 36,000 PSWs and health-care workers.