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LONDON��— The Ontario government has announced spending of $4 million on six projects to support the recruitment, training and mental health of construction workers across the province.

The projects form part of Provincial Building and �鶹��ý����ion Trades Council of Ontario programming, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton stated in London, Ont. on June 21.

The six projects are:

• A pre-apprenticeship program for 460 workers to learn about rodworking��typically used in transit and light rail bridge construction. The Ontario Ironworkers District Council will provide two weeks of in-class training and an eight-week work placement. Training will be available in Ottawa, Toronto, Sudbury, Hamilton and Windsor. Those who successfully complete the program will be registered and employed as apprentices.��
• The Tomorrow’s Trades project to introduce 96 underrepresented youth to the skilled trades in Hamilton, London, Ottawa and Sudbury. The project will include 12 weeks of training and a 12-week work placement to learn about becoming carpenters, electrical workers, pipe trades, sheet metal workers and ironworkers. Upon completion, participants can enter a union-sponsored apprenticeship.��
• A new Building and �鶹��ý����ion Tradeswomen project to attract more women to the trades through marketing and free training.��
• Support for Ironworkers Local 759 in Thunder Bay to purchase equipment used in training, testing and certifying 140 apprentices and journeypersons.��
• The development of an online learning system for those interested in the construction trades to build skills they can apply to apprenticeships in construction.��
• A research project at the De Novo Treatment Centre in Huntsville to provide support for addiction and suicide issues in the construction industry. The project will develop a report and create tools for training centres, unions and employers to better understand and address mental health.��

The funding is being allocated from the government’s $115-million Skills Development Fund.��

“�鶹��ý����ion workers make our dreams come to life – it’s on their backs that we have the homes our families live in, the schools where we learn, and the hospitals and health care��centres��that have been crucial to us over the last 18 months,” said McNaughton in a release. “We need to take care of these talented workers by giving them what they need to build with confidence and vision, while training our future generation for these in-demand jobs.”��

“This investment will encourage young people from diverse and underprivileged backgrounds to join the construction trades, support mental health for our construction workers, deliver cutting-edge skills training to thousands of workers across the province, and help attract and retain more women in construction,” stated Building Trades business manager��Patrick Dillon.