PICKERING, Ont. — Ontario will allow students in Grade 11 to begin working toward their apprenticeships in skilled trades.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce says it’s a deal that lets high school students earn credits toward a secondary school diploma while they apprentice.
Lecce says the change is designed to get students into the trades faster.
The province says the construction industry will need 72,000 new workers by 2027.
Premier Doug Ford’s government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes by 2031.
The province says that one in five job openings by 2026 will be in skilled trades, which means tens of thousands of jobs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2023.
