A new federal plan to train thousands of skilled trades workers could deliver more training capacity, apprenticeships and jobs for Windsor-Essex, as Ottawa looks to address labour shortages and accelerate construction across the country.
Outlined in the spring economic update last week, the federal government's 'Team Canada Strong' initiative proposes up to $6 billion over five years to recruit, train and hire between 80,000 and 100,000 Red Seal skilled trade workers by 2030-31.
Federal Secretary of State for Labour John Zerucelli said the investment is aimed at scaling up the workforce needed to deliver on major national projects.
'One of our objectives is to build across the country,' Zerucelli told the Star. 'Major projects in the national interest, local, community, infrastructure, defence and upgrading. And build across the country, build big and bold as soon as we can.'
Zerucelli pointed to the region's strong union presence and existing training infrastructure as a foundation to build on.
'You have a number of large unions in Windsor,' he said. 'I visited those training centres, and look, it's going to mean a couple of things for them. It's going to mean that we are trying to incentivize and help grow the number of apprentices that come through, not only union training halls like LiUNA and the carpenters union in Windsor, but also St. Clair College, who I know is focused on the trades, as well. It's about growing the number of apprentices and incentivizing businesses.'
Part of that growth could come through funding to expand training facilities, particularly as some centres are already operating near capacity.
'This is an opportunity for union training centres to apply and grow their space, because a lot of these training centres don't have enough capacity,' he said. 'We have a retiring workforce, and we're going to be building — and we are building — so we need people to build. This will increase the demand for workers across the province and across the country.'
The initiative includes efforts to streamline certification, with a goal of making it faster and easier to obtain Red Seal credentials.
Zerucelli said the government is aiming to move quickly, though the plan still needs legislative approval.
'Our intention is to move as fast as we can and get this out as quick as we can,' he said. 'I can't give you a date right now, but I can tell you this is a first time in a generation. It's a generational investment into the skilled trades.'
