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    • Cambrian College helping meet demand for more skilled trades workers

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    It has long been reported that there is a shortage of skilled trades workers across Ontario.

    Cambrian College in Greater Sudbury is working to help meet that demand for more skilled trades workers. (Angela Gemmill/CTV News Northern Ontario)

    Post-secondary schools like Cambrian College in Greater Sudbury, are working to help meet that demand. Experts say students now in those programs will easily find a job after graduation.

    “We’ve all seen the shortage of construction workers. We have the housing crisis – multi-faceted though it is. Infrastructure needs to be built. So we need carpenters, and construction workers,” said Ian Howcroft, the chief executive officer for Skills Ontario.

    “We need electricians, and in the manufacturing sector we need millwrights.”

    Skills Ontario works to promote trades to young people who are making those decisions. Howcroft said post-secondary school have become valuable partners in that work.

    Cambrian has over 1,000 students currently enrolled in its 17 trades programs.

    “We always look at the market demand for the students,” said Darrell Clarke, chair of the School of Skills Training.

    “This is why we increased the carpentry program this year. We had a January intake in that one because of the demand for both carpenters going into the field and also for the applicants who want to apply to the carpentry program.”

    Most recently, Cambrian was named as one of 12 colleges across Ontario – and the only one in the North – to offer the lucrative Schulich Builders Scholarship for Skilled Trades.

    Cambrian will award five students in a one-year trades program with $20,000 and five students in a two-year program with $40,000.

    “The average cost of tuition for a trades program is around $4,000 a year, and that varies within the 17 trades programs that are eligible for this scholarship,” said Melanie Cacciotti, executive director of Alumni Development.

    “That, in addition to around $2,000-3,000 for books, tools, PPE, other things that students might need. So this $20,000 is significant.”

    “We are proud to promote the skilled trades and support students pursuing this rewarding career path,” said Judy Schulich, executive vice president of the Schulich Foundation, in a news release.

    “Canadians rely heavily on the trades to build and maintain infrastructure critical for prosperous communities. Our challenge today is not having enough of these talented people to meet the demand.”

    Cambrian College students have until the end of June to apply for the scholarship that will be applied for skilled trades programs in September.

    For young people trying to decide which trade to pursue, Skills Ontario suggests speaking to a high school guidance counsellor or someone already working in the field, visiting college campuses or even checking out the Skills Ontario Competition this May.

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