SAULT STE. MARIE, ONT. — The Ontario government is partnering with the Government of Canada to invest more than $7.2 million through the Canada-Ontario Workforce Tariff Response to help protect workers in the north.
The money will help more than 500 workers across northern Ontario upgrade their skills, transition into in-demand careers and ensure local employers have the skilled workforce they need, explains a release.
The province will deliver the funds through Skills Advance Ontario, which partners with employers and training providers to help workers transition into the sectors that are driving economic growth and building the province’s long-term competitiveness.
The four organizations across northern Ontario receiving funding are as follows:
- Algoma Steel Inc. is receiving $1.48 million to help upskill 250 of its employees.
- The Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition (CSTEC) is receiving $1.55 million to help 120 manufacturing workers build the skills needed for careers in the trades such as welding and industrial mechanic. Delivered over 4 to 18 weeks in multiple Ontario communities, including Sault Ste. Marie, the program will combine industry-recognized safety certifications with paid work placements.
- Confederation College of Applied Arts & Technology is receiving $2.78 million to help 110 tariff-impacted workers and jobseekers affected by forestry and pulp and paper sector restructuring in Thunder Bay transition into in-demand careers. Participants will receive training in heavy equipment operation, millwrighting, welding, electrical work and commercial driving.
- Washagamis Bay Investment Corporation is receiving $1.39 million to train 40 jobseekers, primarily Indigenous participants from the Treaty #3 region, for careers in housing construction, forestry and telecommunications infrastructure in the Kenora area.
