Investment in provincial pre-apprenticeship program opening doors to careers
Ontario’s Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program is receiving a large infusion of funding from the provincial government.
On Wednesday, Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announcing another $5-million at an event in London, expanding annual funding to $28-million.
Between March 2020 and April 2021, the program offered a free opportunity for 1,780 people with no experience in skilled trades to learn basic skills in preparation for an apprenticeship.
“The cooking and baking trades, arborists, construction trades, it really is endless. We need people and parents to know there are 140 different trades to choose from,” explained McNaughton.
After years on a carousel of temporary jobs, a Sarnia father says the program has led to a rewarding career.
“My life has totally changed since I entered this program,” says 40-year old Hopeton Powell. “I always wanted a steady job. A career. But every time I got a job it would finish, or there’d be a shortage of work.”
As he lay bricks inside the Ontario Masonry Training Centre in London, Powell explained how 16 weeks in the program gave him a foundation of skills to begin his formal apprenticeship.
“First day the foreman asked can you do this? Can you do that? And I could do it because I learned those skills in the pre-apprentice course,” he recalls.
In Ontario, one out over every three journeypersons in the skilled trades is over 55 years old.
McNaughton believes the program can attract new workers and combat the region’s lagging labour participation rate.
Brick by brick, Powell hopes to eventually build his own masonry company and continue to show his children the value of skilled trades careers.
“When I pass with my kids I’m able to say, ‘See that building? I worked on it!’”
Details about the pre-apprenticeship program can be found by contacting Employment Ontario.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6958682.1720639670!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Canada to announce plan to reach NATO target, spend 2% of GDP on defence: sources
After facing months of pressure, senior government sources tell CTV News that Canada will unveil its plan on Thursday on how to reach its NATO commitment to spend two per cent of its GDP on defence.
His brother was found dead, his mother was arrested before this baby was found crawling by a highway
A Louisiana sheriff says a 1-year-old 'miracle baby' survived two days of sometimes stormy weather before a truck driver spotted him crawling along a roadside the day after his 4-year-old brother was found dead and his mother was arrested in Mississippi.
Surging optimism as Canada continues to shock the soccer world at Copa America
A 2-nil semi-final loss to Argentina dashed Canada’s hopes of reaching the championship game at the Copa America Tournament, but getting this far and having a surprising level of success was a major breakthrough.
Frank Stronach's granddaughter seeks company docs related to misconduct allegations
The granddaughter of billionaire businessman Frank Stronach is asking an Ontario court to order the family business to disclose any documents that might exist related to complaints of sexual misconduct against him and settlements involving complainants.
Actor George Clooney, a high-profile Biden supporter and fundraiser, asks president to leave race
Movie star and lifelong Democrat George Clooney added his voice to calls for Joe Biden to leave the presidential race on Wednesday, just weeks after headlining a fundraiser that brought in a record single-night haul for the president's reelection campaign.
Man suspected of killing the family of BBC radio commentator has been found, British police say
British police said they found Wednesday the man suspected of killing three women, the wife and daughters of a well-known BBC radio commentator, near London in a brutal crossbow attack.
Ellen DeGeneres is 'done' after her Netflix special
Ellen DeGeneres has reportedly said she's ready to tap out of performing. The former daytime talk show host let that be known during a recent standup show at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, California.
Video shows shipment of live eels spilling at Vancouver airport
A cooler full of live eels broke open while being unloaded at the Vancouver International Airport earlier this week, with a video of the incident going viral on social media.
Rainfall, heat, smoke advisories across Canada
Large parts of Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada were under weather warnings forecasting significant rainfall due to the remnants of Hurricane Beryl, while people in western Canada experienced sweltering heat. Some areas were also under air quality advisories as a result of wildfire smoke.