New Program Provides Young People With High Quality Training to Kick Off a Career in the Trades

In partnership with the Ontario government's Skills Development Fund and Conestoga College, St. Leonard's Community Services Employment Services launches a new program to help job seekers kick start their careers in the construction industry.

The Foundations for Trades program will provide participants with five weeks of hands-on training in carpentry, plumbing, and electrical, plus a four-week on-the-job placement with a local employer in the construction sector.  

This program will train six cohorts of 15 people over a one-year period, setting up 90 local candidates for well-paying, good jobs in the red-hot construction sector and helping to ease the labour shortage conditions currently facing the skilled trades. Graduates will receive a Construction Foundations Certificate from Conestoga College.

"Foundations for Trades helps bridge the gap between a sector that greatly needs skilled workers and local people who need to find good jobs," said Malcolm Whyte, Director of Employment Services with St. Leonard's Community Services. "It's a big win for the local economy."

The program is open to people who are between 18 and 29 years of age who are currently unemployed or working less than 20 hours per week. Those who are interested in participating should call Erin Jones at the Brant Employment Centre – ejones@st-leonards.com or (519) 756-7665 to get started.

This is an Employment Ontario project and is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario through the Skills Development Fund, a more than $200 million initiative that supports innovative programs that connect job seekers with the skills and training they need to find well-paying careers close to home.

“Our government is committed to ensuring people have the skills to find good jobs and build better lives for themselves and their families,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “I am proud to support this project that gives people the training they need to rewarding jobs in construction that will lead to exciting careers and bigger paycheques.”