Ontario Supporting Pathways for Youth to Work in the Skilled Trades

Government investing $241,280 to help full-time students and marginalized youth gain the skills needed to be successful in the skilled trades.

Cobourg  — The Ontario government is investing $241,280 through the Skills Development Training Stream in the Junior Achievement of Northern and Eastern Ontario’s (JA-NEO) World of Choices Program. This brings Ontario’s total investment in skills development training through SDF to nearly $1.1 billion.

“Under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government is proud to invest in programs that support training and developing career pathways,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “We are happy to support JA-NEO as an exceptional organization that are dedicated to running programs that develop our future workforce and provide young people with real-life exposure to a wide variety of skilled trades jobs.”

JA-NEO is focused on the inspiration and preparation of young people to succeed by providing them with opportunities to learn financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness skills. With committed volunteers, JA-NEO seek to provide young people from different communities with the confidence, opportunity and skills to succeed in school and work life.

With investment from the Skills Development Fund, JA-NEO will be running programs throughout 2024/25 school year that will reach over 2000 full-time students and youth. The focus of these programs will be to educate and help students understand the importance of skilled trades. Participants will be linked with community and business leaders to familiarize themselves with potential career pathways and access a real-world glimpse into a variety of careers.

Ontario supports JA-NEO’s innovative plans to reach youth from different communities and populations experiencing unique barriers that limit pathways into skilled trades careers. JA-NEO will be working with schools across Northumberland and Peterborough to provide inclusive environments with equitable engagement and learning opportunities around skilled trades.


“At JA Northern and Eastern Ontario (JA-NEO), we are often the first point of contact with students surrounding skills in Financial Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Workforce Readiness.” John McNutt – President & CEO of JA Northern and Eastern Ontario said. “With funding from the Skills Development Fund, JA-NEO is continuing to be at the forefront of exposing and providing experiential learning opportunities and essential skills to youth that are needed within the skilled trades sector. By working alongside our industry partners across all Northern and Eastern Ontario we are helping to close the skilled trades gap” John McNutt added.

The Skills Development Fund Training Stream is open to a wide range of applicants, including employers, industry associations, labour unions, municipalities, hospitals and many more. The funding announced today builds on the government’s mission to make Ontario the best place in the world to work, live and raise a family.

Since its launch in 2021, Ontario’s Skills Development Fund has helped connect more than half a million jobseekers with the skills and training they need to find well-paying and fulfilling careers close to home.

Quick Facts

  • So far, the Skills Development Fund Training Stream has supported over 700 training projects across the province.
  • More than 420,000 of these participants are expected to be from an underrepresented group such as women, youth, persons with disabilities, racialized groups and Indigenous peoples.
  • Nearly 219,000 jobs are going unfilled across the province.
  • People interested in participating in the programs announced today are encouraged to contact the lead organizations of the projects directly.
  • The Training Stream of the Skills Development Fund is supported through labour market transfer agreements between the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. As the Government of Canada has unilaterally cut over $230 million annually from Ontario’s Labour Market Transfer Agreements, which support employment and settlement service programs, Ontario continues to call for the federal government to reinstate this critical funding for Ontario workers and jobseekers.
  • As announced in the 2024 Budget: Building a Better Ontario, the Ontario government is investing an additional $100 million through SDF to grow the trades workforce and build Ontario, bringing Ontario’s total SDF to over $1 billion.

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