In addition to providing job training to help area residents find new careers in manufacturing or tourism, the Four County Labour Market Planning Board’s Connect2Skills program will soon offer training to those hoping to work in construction.

Thanks to additional funding for employment training and support from the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, the labour market planning board has partnered with labourers’ union LiUNA Local 1059 on this SkillsAdvance Ontario project to teach the skills needed to start a career in construction while connecting local employers with those trained workers.

“We’ve heard from our construction-sector employers that they need that entry-level employee and they need people with skills and abilities,” said Four County Labour Market Planning Board executive director Gemma Mendez-Smith. “We’ve been listening to that input and hearing what they’ve been saying about the struggle in finding a workforce, so we felt we could help.

“We will not be able to fill all of the positions they may have open, but we can help our local communities benefit from these opportunities by making sure they have the skills.”

By working with both the labourers’ union and local employers, Mendez-Smith said program facilitators are able to develop a curriculum – much like those for the other Connect2Skills programs – that balances classroom learning with hands-on experience in real workplaces to ensure those who graduate have the needed skills and direct connections to companies looking to fill positions immediately.

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