Fanshawe College in London has received approval to deliver a Welding Apprenticeship program to help meet the critical demand for skilled tradespeople across the province.
The Welding Apprenticeship program, to be delivered by the School of Applied Science and Technology, is expected to launch in September 2023 with an initial intake of 20 students.
โOntario is facing the largest labour shortage in a generation, which means when you have a job in the skilled trades, you have a job for life,โ said Monte McNaughton, minister of labour. โBy investing in training like Fanshawe Collegeโs Welding Apprenticeship program, we are helping to attract and prepare a new generation of welders here in southwestern Ontario for better jobs and bigger paycheques.โ
Stephen Patterson, dean of the Faculty of Science, Trades and Technology, says the Ministerโs approval reinforces Fanshaweโs standing as a leader of apprenticeship training in the Ontario college system.
โFanshawe is committed to advancing education and apprenticeship in the skilled trades,โ said Patterson. โWe are proud of the role we play in unlocking the potential of more than 5,000 students studying in nearly 50 programs focused on skilled trades and apprenticeship each year.โ
The welding apprenticeship program will be based out of the Collegeโs newly renovated 50-station welding lab, one of the largest welding training facilities in Southwestern Ontario, which was unveiled in June 2022 following a $5 million refurbishment funded in part by the Province of Ontarioโs Apprenticeship Capital Grant.
Fanshawe offers students the opportunity to pursue apprenticeships within the construction, industrial, service and motive power sectors.