Ontario Construction News staff writer
Ontario is expanding the province’s new employment services to five more regions to help more people who can and are able to work find better jobs. The improved system could help thousands of unemployed people in London, Windsor-Sarnia, Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie, Durham, and Ottawa find jobs close to home.
“We are taking significant steps to address Ontario’s historic labour shortage and help more people start their journey towards a career they can be proud of,” said Monte McNaughton, minister of labour, immigration, training and skills development. “By expanding and improving our employment services with a renewed focus on helping people lead purpose-driven lives, we are lifting people up, including those on social assistance, so that they can be leaders in their community and help build a stronger Ontario for all of us.”
Services are already in place in Peel, Hamilton–Niagara, Muskoka–Kawartha, Halton, York, Stratford–Bruce Peninsula and Kingston–Pembroke. By the end of 2023, expansion will be underway in Toronto and Northern Ontario.
The initiative is designed to help social assistance recipients who can and are able to work find the tools they need to gain in-demand skills and employment.
Early results from the regions that launched first with these new employment services shows they are helping those who need it the most:
• Of the 63,233 people on the path to a job, over 23,000 are social assistance recipients
• More than two in five are people with disabilities
• Nearly 20 per cent are disadvantaged young people, often with prior involvement in the criminal justice system