Ontario injects an additional $160 million into funding for skills training.

A sum of $160 million is earmarked by the province of Ontario to bolster skills training initiatives, with a focus on providing support to individuals receiving social assistance and those with prior criminal records.

The Minister of Labour, Monte McNaughton, is scheduled to unveil the fourth installment of funding from the Skills Development Fund today. This allocation is intended to facilitate complimentary training opportunities for a minimum of 100,000 individuals in fields such as healthcare, automobile manufacturing, information technology, hospitality, and various skilled trades.

With this announcement, the cumulative investment in skills development training via the Fund surpasses $860 million. To date, it has backed 596 projects spanning a diverse array of sectors.

McNaughton notes that within Ontario, approximately one million individuals possess a criminal record, predominantly stemming from non-violent and minor offenses. Surprisingly, even after 15 years post-release, half of them continue to rely on social assistance.

Highlighting a concerning statistic, McNaughton points out that roughly 40 percent of those with a criminal record encounter difficulty securing a follow-up interview during their job search endeavors. In response, he is urging organizations to present proposals aimed at not only facilitating these individuals in finding purposeful employment but also tackling the existing labor shortages.

“This is something that we’ve really been promoting and encouraging businesses to step up,” he said in an interview.

“I just think there’s a huge opportunity. These workers become very loyal to the employer that gives them a chance and there’s a huge opportunity to lift these people up.”

Funding applications are due by Nov. 17