Ontario Investing in Building Skills to Build Homes in Northumberland  

The Ontario government is investing $665,880 in the Building Skills to Build Homes project by Habitat for Humanity Northumberland. This will help train new workers in home construction and finishing trades to tackle the urgent need for new affordable homes in Northumberland County. This initiative is supported through the Skills Development Fund, a program developed by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

“We need to build more homes in Northumberland and across Ontario. To do this, we know we will need more people to enter the skilled trades and find a rewarding career,” said MPP David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “By investing in programs such as this we are not only providing great opportunities for those out of work to forge new career pathways, but we are also tackling the shortage of housing in our community.”

Habitat for Humanity is supported by multiple community and sectoral partners dedicated to the success of this project. Habitat for Humanity’s project will focus on delivering a combination of virtual and practical training techniques as well as an on-site placement to thirty participants over the course of 8 weeks. The participants will engage in instruction on installation techniques and application methods to provide them with necessary skills to contribute to residential construction projects. The practical experience will come from working with Habitat for Humanity Northumberland’s affordable home build project. This program will also provide career pathway guidance, so that participants are able to take their training and move forward in their careers and also benefit the wider community.

“Habitat Northumberland has been a vital part of our community, providing affordable homeownership to people here in Northumberland for 26 years now. Our work site provides an ideal opportunity for experiential, hands-on learning as workers are coached through the various elements of construction and finishing detail by our experienced staff and the contractors that we work with,” said Cathy Borowec, CEO for Habitat for Humanity Northumberland. “This program offers people an introduction to construction, using tools and workplace safety; most importantly they have a chance to open up the possibility of a career in home construction at a time when the need for housing is critical.”

The Skills Development Fund supports a wide range of organizations for innovative projects that drive the province’s economic growth and address challenges to hiring, training or retraining workers.

The Skills Development Fund Training Stream is supported through labour market transfer agreements between the Government of Canada and Government of Ontario