Grade 11 students will soon be able to jump right into a full-time, skilled trades apprenticeship program while still earning their high school diploma.
The province is launching a program to help more students get into the trades faster than ever before in an effort to fill Ontario’s historic labour shortages.
Premier Doug Ford was joined by Labour Minister and Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton and Education Minister Stephen Lecce for Wednesday’s announcement from Pickering.
McNaughton said Ontario is creating a world-leading apprenticeship system.
“Whether it’s construction, landscaping, tool and die, manufacturing and building electric vehicles, we need builders to build at an unprecedented speed.”
McNaughton said as of January, apprenticeship registrations were 23 per cent higher compared to last year.
“For far too long, parents and students have been told the only path to succeed in life is by going to university, which is simply not true,” said McNaughton.
The program will allow young workers to apply for their Ontario Secondary School Diploma after receiving their Certificate of Apprenticeship.
Ford said it will help fill the more than 380,000 jobs going unfilled every single day.
“And I always say we create the conditions and the environment for companies to come here and expand, and this is what happens, we have 380,000 jobs available.”
The Ministry of Education is working to recognize up to 30 credits required to earn the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) for individuals with a Certificate of Apprenticeship or equivalent.
Lecce said the program will create more co-op, more work placements and greater opportunities to take apprenticeship in college credits while in high school.
“And this is exactly what students, what job creators, what parents have called on us to do in our government. And because a principle measurement of our success is how do we get students from the classroom into a good paying job? That’s why our government has continuously stepped up and invested in the skilled trades.”
In April of 2022, the province announced the Better Jobs Ontario program, an initiative that offers Ontarians looking to train for in-demand work up to $28,000 for tuition and up to $500 a week for basic living costs.
The province said by 2026, about one in five job openings in Ontario are projected to be in the skilled trades.
Since June of 2020, the Ford Tories have invested nearly $1 billion to make it easier to learn a trade.
-With files from Stephanie Chaves
