The Ontario government will spend $5 million to train 500 people to work in the provincial auto sector.
The announcement was made Wednesday morning at the Dyna-Mig auto parts plant in Stratford by Premier Doug Ford and Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton.
“Ontario is facing a generational labor shortage,” Ford said, noting that 380,000 jobs are unfilled in the province.
Ford said with plans to increase production of electric vehicles, there is a need for skilled workers.
The training will help people from underrepresented groups work in areas of the automotive industry such as assembly, logistics and quality control, Ford said. The province is working with the Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association to provide placements, he said.
“At the end of their training, each participant will receive a job offer from a local employer,” he promised.
Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association, said the automotive industry has an aging workforce and there is a need to hire, train and retain people. He said the funding “will build new pathways for historically excluded groups such as youth, women, newcomers and racialized communities.”
McNaughton called Ontario autoworkers “heroes”.
“We need more people like these to build Ontario. We need everyone on deck and that’s especially true in the automotive manufacturing industry,” McNaughton said.
cbc
