Free welding training program offered at Conestoga to help meet labour demand
Posted Apr 6, 2022 10:02:00 PM.
A free job training program for people interested in working as welders is being offered to help meet local labour demands.
The Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie will provide the two-week-long classes regularly over the next year and delivered by four community colleges, including Conestoga College.
Cambridge and Kitchener-Waterloo area residents are encouraged to apply.
The program, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, will recruit 150 participants from Cambridge, Kitchener-Waterloo, Brantford, Six Nations, New Credit, Hamilton and Brant, Haldimand, Norfolk and Oxford counties.
Workforce Planning Board said in a press release that two-thirds of participants are expected to be women, while opportunities for people with disabilities, youth and other underrepresented groups are also available.
Its partner for the program, CWB Welding Foundation, operates the Women of Steel program, which aims to support women in welding.
The Women of Steel program, as well as the youth-focused Mind Over Metal curriculum, will be delivered by instructors at the welding shops of Conestoga College, Six Nation Polytechnic’s Brantford campus and Fanshawe College’s Simcoe campus.
Mohawk College will also offer training at a mobile classroom at its Fennell Street campus.
Graduates will be assisted by local employment agencies who will work with local businesses to offer on-the-job placements, which could lead to permanent positions, said the press release.
People can find more information about the program online.
