Amid 'historic' labour shortages, province to spend millions on skills training in northern Ontario

The Ontario government is spending more than $7 million to bring more training opportunities to northern Ontario amid what it's calling a "critical shortage" of ironworkers and welders.

David Piccini, Ontario minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development, made the announcement Wednesday in Thunder Bay at Ironworkers Local 759 alongside Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Kevin Holland.

The money, which comes from Ontario's Skills Development Fund Training Stream, will support eight training projects across the region. The programs aim to create training opportunities for 1,700 people, with a special focus on getting Indigenous people into the trades.

At Thunder Bay's Ironworkers branch, that means 100 workers and job seekers can attend a one-year training program to upgrade their skills.

"Currently, we're sending our guys, our apprentices to Sault Ste. Marie, which is a seven-hour drive. It's a dangerous highway," said Ironworkers Local 759 business manager Adam MacGillivray.

"What we're trying to do is create a training centre locally and run our apprentice program here," he said. "We have six welding booths. We want to double the size of this and just keep building on from there."

Attracting people to the trades

Earlier this year, the province announced that after Grade 10, students can transition to full-time apprenticeship programs while still earning a high school diploma, part of a wider push to address labour shortages as Ontario looks to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031.

According to Piccini, the province is facing a "historic" labour shortage, with about 300,000 jobs unfilled across Ontario, nearly 17,000 of which are in northern Ontario.

"Many of these unfilled jobs are in the skilled trades. In the next decade alone, Ontario will need over 100,000 more people in the construction industry."

It takes three years to fully train a journey person to work in the field, said MacGillivray. While the one-year training program is free, participants are essentially working for their education.

He has been promoting the trades at high schools and colleges in the hopes of attracting more people to the industry. Training that's easier to access will make it easier for people to set roots in the region, he added.

"The more people that [are] working in this area are staying in this area, and they're buying groceries in this area, they're buying houses in this area," MacGillivray said. "Lots of the jobs that we have, we would like to have local companies work on them and keep that work here locally."

Job opportunities include work at mines from Marathon to potentially the Ring of Fire, the new art gallery coming to Thunder Bay's marina and the new Thunder Bay Correctional Complex, he said.

"We've been pretty good at filling those jobs, but if they all come and happen at once, we're going to be in trouble," he said.

Phil Fournier is an apprentice ironworker at Local 759 who is starting his own business, Fournier Custom and Industrial Fabrication.

He said MacGillivray approached him a few years ago about starting an apprenticeship, and he's grateful for the training opportunities he's had to launch his career.

"If you are thinking about getting into the trades or maybe somebody suggested that you get into the trades, I highly suggest as well that you jump on that opportunity. Now is the time — the work is opening up," Fournier said.

"It's a good time to to be a tradesperson right now."

MacGillivray said he prefers to receive resumés in person so he can get to know the applicants more personally.