The Ontario government is encouraging more young people to enter the skilled trades after high school with $28 million in funding to help them pay for pre-apprenticeship training.

The funding to help address major shortages of workers in Ontario’s skilled trades was announced at the Ontario Masonry Training Centre in London, Ont., Wednesday.

“Ontario continues to face a generational labour shortage. To build a stronger Ontario and grow our economy we need all hands on deck. Every day, there are hundreds of thousands of paycheques waiting to be collected,” said Monte McNaughton, minister of labour, training and skills development.

Between July and September 2021, there were more than 330,000 unfilled jobs in Ontario, many of which are in the skilled trades.

Pre-apprenticeship training programs are free for participants, allowing people to learn both in the classroom and on the job.

“My message to young people, to parents, to guidance counsellors, is that these are great career opportunities for people. They provide big paychecks often with pension and benefits,” McNaughton said.