Ontario pledges $3.6M to train more women, young people as construction workers | CBC News

The Ontario government says it will spend $3.6 million to attract more women and young people to work in the construction industry, as the province seeks to address a labour shortage that could put its housing goals at risk.

The funding will go toward three projects that are expected to help 2,200 women and young people “prepare for meaningful and well-paying careers in the construction trades,” the province said in a news release Tuesday.

“Our government will continue to invest in training programs that spread life-changing opportunity to anyone who wants a hand up to a bigger paycheque and a better life,” Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said in the release. 

“We are proud to support these new projects that help women and young people enter the trades and find purpose-driven careers.”

The province projects it will need more than 100,000 new skilled trades workers over the next decade to meet its infrastructure goals, including its target of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031.

However, 82,600 construction workers, or 18 per cent of the industry’s workforce, are set to retire in the next 10 years, according to a report from construction lobby group BuildForce Canada. Many of those who are expected to retire are senior workers with decades of experience and specialized skills.

Currently, women make up less than five per cent of Ontario’s construction workforce, the province noted in the release.

Projects include free training, online resources

The projects will be led by the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario (PBCTCO), an umbrella group made up of 12 construction craft unions that together represent approximately 150,000 workers, according to the organization’s website.

The first project will focus on training 700 tradeswomen women in leadership, communications, health and safety and networking so they can start and advance their careers in the industry, the new release says. The program will also include the development of a “speaker’s bureau” to help mentor and attract women into skilled trades at schools, employment agencies, trade shows and other events.

The second project will allow 1,500 people to access online resources and training tools to help people interested in joining the skilled trades learn key skills and find apprenticeship opportunities, the province says. It will also help them find apprenticeship opportunities and connect them directly with local employers. 

The third, called the “Tomorrow’s Trades” program, is an existing project run by the PBCTCO that will provide 60 Grade 12 students in Ottawa and London with learning opportunities, access to high-profile construction projects and training, the province says.

The program, which prioritizes at-risk youth, has previously run in Toronto, Hamilton, Sudbury and other parts of the province. 

 “These projects, while all unique, together focus on developing the workforce of the future and expanding opportunities within the skilled trades for equity-seeking groups,” said Marc Arsenault, business manager at PBCTCO in the news release

“As we move forward, this investment supports a fact-based approach to workforce development that will create opportunities for more Ontarians to embark on a great career to build the province we live in.”