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

The Ontario government says it will spend $3.6 million to provide free training and 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.

"We're changing the conversation around the skilled trades. For far too long in Ontario, under governments of all different stripes, they've told people that the only way to be successful in life is by going to university. There's nothing further from the truth," McNaughton said at a press conference announcing the funding Tuesday.  

"These are jobs that can pay six figures with pensions and benefits, you can build families around [them]." 

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 three projects], while all unique, together focus on developing the workforce of the future and expanding opportunities within the skilled trades for equity-deserving groups," said Marc Arsenault, business manager at PBCTCO, at Tuesday's announcement.

McNaughton said the province had recently boosted apprenticeship registrations by 24 per cent in the last year compared to the previous year, including by nearly 30 per cent among women. In total, McNaughton said there are more than 91,000 active apprentices in Ontario right now, including tens of thousands in the construction trades.

McNaughton added the province has taken steps to improve the health and safety of job sites by introducing women-only bathrooms and increasing the number of site inspectors.

Program to forecast demand and supply for skilled trades

According to the release, the initiative will also develop a forecasting program that will project the number of skilled trades workers needed for all major construction and maintenance projects across Ontario, in order to help stream young people the trades where they're needed by region.

Arsenault said the forecasting capability is an "innovative tool" that will provide data showing precisely how many people will be required to perform which skilled trades when, where and for how long.

"This data will assist recruiters, their training centres and their hiring halls across Ontario, improving confidence in trade availability and supply modelling," said Arsenault. 

Tuesday's announcement comes after previous measures the Ontario government has introduced to address labour shortages in the construction industry, including one that allows students, starting in Grade 11, to transition to full-time apprenticeship programs while still earning a high school diploma.