The province has boosted its apprenticeship training program, and Northern Ontario is in on the action.
Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Chris Bentley announced Aug. 26 his ministry will be spending $13.6 million over the next four years to create 1,000 new apprenticeship positions at 18 community colleges.
Greater Sudbury alone will receive funding for 197 of those spots, Minister of Northern Development and Mines and Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci was happy to announce the same day.
Cambrian College will receive the lion’s share of the funding, $2,829,500 for 187 positions. More students will be able to enroll in the general machinist/mechanical technician (25 positions), heavy duty equipment/motive power technician (50) and industrial mechanic millwright/mechanical
technician (112) programs. College Boreal will receive $171,000 for 10 of the latter.
The funding will apply to the upcoming school semester.
Information on other colleges in the North was not available before Northern Ontario Business’s press deadline.
The apprenticeship program was launched last year, with space for 200 students in six community colleges.
According to Bentley, the expansion will help the government meet its commitment to have 26,000 apprentices registered by 2007-08. Over 20,000 are registered currently.
Businesses receive a tax credit of $5,000 as an incentive to offer apprenticeship training and cover a portion of the student’s wage, something a lot of businesses aren’t aware of, according to the minister.
