Feds invest $6.5 million to support training for women in advanced manufacturing

The Canadian government is investing over $6.5 million in Ontario’s YWCA Hamilton branch to train women in advanced manufacturing and related areas.

The three-year grant to YWCA Hamilton from the FedDev Ontario program will assist more than 500 women in the region to develop new skills for jobs in sectors where women are traditionally underrepresented, particularly in the advanced manufacturing and specialized technology sectors.

The first cohort of the program will launch in early 2021.

The project will also be expanded across southern Ontario in partnership with other local YWCAs throughout the GTA, London/St. Thomas, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Ottawa, and eastern Ontario, as well as other women-focused industry partners. The project will accelerate 255 women into STEM-based careers.

In addition to the reskilling programming, the YWCA Hamilton will work with the YWCA Canada and industry partners to launch the Curated Pathways to Innovation app. The app will offer free personalized learning pathways and resources to 250 women across southern Ontario, supporting them to acquire the skills to effectively compete for positions in technology fields and skilled trades.

“This FedDev Ontario investment will provide women in Hamilton and across southern Ontario opportunities to seek well paying jobs in manufacturing and specialized technology while we build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister of Labour and Member of Parliament for Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas.