Ontario is investing $5.4 million to design and build three mobile tech classrooms that will travel across the province and teach students and young people about the skilled trades.
The classrooms, built and operated by Skills Ontario, will feature hands-on learning stations and simulators for electrical systems, welding, crane operation, auto-painting, tire and brake work, heavy machinery and more. Over three years, they will let nearly half a million people explore the skilled trades.
“By 2025, one in five jobs in Ontario will be in the skilled trades. These are rewarding, well-paying careers that you can build a family and a life around,” said Labour Minister Monte McNaughton. “That’s why our government will continue to invest in cutting-edge programs that give students the chance to experience the 144 trades and life-changing opportunities available to them.”
These three 12-metre-long Trades & Tech Trucks will travel across the province, providing students an opportunity to explore the skilled trades as well as speak with industry members, while learning about local training opportunities, colleges and employers.
“Since rolling out our first Trades & Tech truck last year, our mobile classroom has provided thousands of students with hands-on learning experiences,” said Ian Howcroft, CEO of Skills Ontario. “This program ignites an awareness of opportunities in the skilled trades and tech field that inspires more young people to pursue these careers.”
Last month, the government announced apprenticeship registrations increased by 24 per cent in the last year – from 21,971 to 27,319 – as more people decide to pursue rewarding, well-paying careers in the industry.
“I recently announced that starting in September of 2024, all high school students will take at least one technology education course to create pathways to exciting jobs of the future,” said Education Minister Stephen Lecce. “Ontario’s new mobile tech classroom will support 150,000 students every year in learning those critical skills that will set them up for success in a good-paying job.”
The province helped launch the Trades & Tech Truck pilot program in 2022. The first truck reached over 40,000 students and young people, visiting more than 50 events across the province from Toronto to Ottawa and Thunder Bay.
This project is funded through the government’s Skills Development Fund, an over $700 million initiative, which supports ground-breaking programs that connect jobseekers with the skills and training they need to find well-paying careers close to home. It is supported through labour market transfer agreements between the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario
