Ontario to send over 60 skilled trades recruiters into schools to combat worker shortage

TORONTO -

The Ontario government announced Wednesday that it intends to hire additional skilled trades recruiters to enter high schools across the province in an effort to stave off a worker shortage in the industry.

Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, Monte McNaughton and Minister of Education Stephen Lecce gathered in Whitby on Wednesday morning to announce details on an additional $90 million investment in the trades sector.

This new funding will see the expansion of the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP), which will deploy 63 additional recruiters to teach young people about the skilled trades in more than 800 schools across the province.

The move is an effort to counter a shortage of workers in the skilled trades, which “has been intensified by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Monte said.

The government also announced its intention to commit to an annual advertising campaign promoting skilled trades, host skilled trades job fairs, provide free pre-apprenticeships training for marginalized youth and simplify the existing apprenticeship system.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD), it is estimated that, by 2025, as many as one in five jobs in the province will be in the skilled trades, but the average age of people entering the trades is 29.

At the same time, the ministry estimates that a third of tradespeople are nearing retirement, meaning the province is projected to face a shortfall of 100,000 construction workers over the decade.

“Today, hundreds of thousands of well-paying meaningful jobs in the trades are going unfilled,” Monte said. “These are jobs that do more than put food on people's tables. They offer bigger paychecks in many cases with defined pensions. and benefits and endless opportunities.”

“When you have a job in the skilled trades, you have a job for life,” he said.

These initiatives bring the Ontario government’s total investment in the provincial ‘Skilled Trades Strategy’ to approximately $1.5 billion between 2020 and 2024.