Photo: Woodworking
The Liberal government’s spring economic update says the country doesn’t have enough workers to build its planned infrastructure and to fix that the government proposed a number of measures that will help in the recruitment, training and hiring of 80,000 to 100,000 new skilled trade workers by 2030-2031.
Among the initiatives is a $5,000 bonus when a worker completes their Red Seal certification, a process Ottawa also wants to modernize by introducing online exams, digital logbooks and creating a single national registered apprenticeship number.
And the government will spend $2 billion over five years to increase the number of young people choosing skilled trades.
That funding will go towards a “Team Canada Strong Program,” which will provide youth aged 15 to 30 with paid, entry-level trades work that could lead to an apprenticeship.
A new Build Canada Apprenticeship Service will also provide wage subsidies of up to $10,000 per worker to help small and medium businesses support the cost of hiring and training.
