The Ontario government says it will spend $3.6 million to provide free training and attract more women and young people to work in the construction industry, as the province seeks to address a labour shortage that could put its housing goals at risk.

The funding will go toward three projects that are expected to help 2,200 women and young people “prepare for meaningful and well-paying careers in the construction trades,” the province said in a news release Tuesday.

“We’re changing the conversation around the skilled trades. For far too long in Ontario, under governments of all different stripes, they’ve told people that the only way to be successful in life is by going to university. There’s nothing further from the truth,” McNaughton said at a press conference announcing the funding Tuesday. 

“These are jobs that can pay six figures with pensions and benefits, you can build families around [them].” 

The province projects it will need more than 100,000 new skilled trades workers over the next decade to meet its infrastructure goals, including its target of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031.

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