Ontario Investing Over $74 Million Through Next Round of Skills Development Fund Capital Stream

November 18, 2024

The Ontario government is launching the second round of its Skills Development Fund (SDF) Capital Stream starting November 29, with over $74 million in available funding to build, expand and retrofit training facilities for workers in the trades, including construction, manufacturing technology and health care. The government is also investing nearly $5 million from the first round of the SDF Capital Stream with the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) to build a new crane training facility for over 1,600 workers in Barrie. Since the province launched the Skills Development Fund in 2021, Ontario is building training facilities and providing training programs that are projected to support over one million workers across the province.

“With more than $74 million committed to training and workers across the province, this new round of funding through our Skills Development Fund Capital Stream will help thousands of additional Ontario workers find better jobs and bigger paycheques,” said Premier Doug Ford. “It’s especially great to be here in Oro-Medonte to announce nearly $5 million in support from the first round of funding and see first-hand how it’s making a difference in the lives of Ontario workers.”

Building on the success of the SDF Capital Stream announced in 2023, Ontario will open a second round on November 29, 2024, with an enhanced, streamlined application process that includes a new SEED pathway to help with the upfront costs of developing construction proposals, such as design drawings and technical plans. This addresses the needs of businesses and training providers who may lack the in-house capacity to develop complex construction plans. As a further improvement, the Capital Stream will now also accept funding proposals all year round, which enables faster application reviews.

“Under Premier Ford, our government has an ambitious plan to build Ontario – from new housing that families can call home, to highways and public transit connecting our communities, to clean energy projects powering our economy,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “But with one in three tradespeople retiring over the coming years, we must pass on the skills and expertise from the Golden Generation of Skilled Tradespeople to the next generation of workers. With a new, second round of our Skills Development Fund Capital Stream, we are going to kick Ontario’s training capacity into high-gear, training over one million workers for in-demand careers in every corner of Ontario.”

The announcement was made in Oro-Medonte, where the government is investing nearly $5 million in the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) to build a new crane training facility, led by the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO). The SDF Capital Stream investment from round one will help build a new crane training facility focused on training apprentices in mobile and tower crane operation, as well as heavy equipment. This modern and high-tech centre will include simulation labs, workshops and an outdoor training area for tower cranes, in addition to classrooms, offices and a cafeteria. This full-service training facility will train over 1,600 jobseekers – including youth, Indigenous peoples and newcomers – and foster innovation, while helping to build a talent pipeline for the construction industry in the region and across Ontario.

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Quick Facts

As the Government of Canada has unilaterally cut over $230 million annually from Ontario’s Labour Market Transfer Agreements, which supports employment and settlement service programs, Ontario continues to call for the federal government to reinstate this critical funding for Ontario workers and jobseekers.

SDF comprises two streams: the Training Stream supports hiring, training and upskilling programs for jobseekers, apprentices and workers; and the Capital Stream supports upgrades or construction of training centres for the skilled trades. The total investment for both streams is to up to $1.4 billion.

SDF Capital Stream Round 2 will open on November 29 and will allow a continuous intake of applications. This improved application process allows interested organizations to apply year-round through Transfer Payment Ontario. Inquiries can be sent to: SDFCapitalProgram@ontario.ca.

The new SEED pathway of the Capital Stream will help fund the development of capital plans for training facilities and will complement the already established GROW pathway that will continue to support projects to build, upgrade and expand new training infrastructure.

Organizations that are interested in submitting a proposal for either the SEED or GROW pathways will be able to review the SDF Capital Stream application guidelines over the coming week at https://forms.mgcs.gov.on.ca/en/dataset/on00540.

Since its launch in 2023, Ontario’s SDF Capital Stream has been supporting renovation and construction projects that aim to help almost 250,000 workers train for in-demand sectors.

The SDF Training Stream supports hiring, training and upskilling projects for jobseekers, apprentices and workers. Round 5 of the SDF Training Stream closed on October 11, 2024 and over 800 applications for funding were submitted.

Ontario’s $5 million investment through round one of the SDF Capital Stream will go to support the construction of IUOE’s $25 million crane training facility.

Over 21,000 jobs were recently going unfilled in Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie region, including jobs in the construction sector.

The Capital Stream of the Skills Development Fund is exclusively funded by the Government of Ontario.

The Training Stream of the SDF is supported through labour market transfer agreements between the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.

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