Ontario Pledges $5M for Crane Training Facility in Oro-Medonte

A construction worker passes a condominium site with a roll of cable in Toronto, on Oct. 8, 2021. Reuters/Chris Helgren

Ontario has pledged nearly $5 million towards developing a new crane training facility, aiming to help address the workforce shortage in skilled trades and support ongoing construction across the province.

The provincial money will help fund a $25 million training centre in Oro-Medonte, 90 minutes north of Toronto, which will be led by the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario (OETIO).

The facility will be built by the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) to provide training for more than 1,600 apprentices in the operation of mobile and tower crane operations and heavy equipment.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who visited the Highway 11 construction site Nov. 12, said the funding will come from the first round of the province’s Skills Development Fund (SDF) Capital Stream.

“This new facility is going to be incredible,” Ford said during the Nov. 12 press conference. He said the apprentices trained at the centre would be “the future builders that are going to be building our hospitals and our schools and [Highway 413] and Bradford bypass, and the list goes on.”

The training centre will include simulation labs, workshops, and an outdoor training area for tower cranes, in addition to classrooms, offices, and a cafeteria.

A timeline for commencement and completion of construction was not provided. Labour Minister David Piccini said the facility is needed to address current and future labour shortages.

“A large share of experienced tradespeople are retiring over the coming years,” he said at the press conference. “In fact, one in three journey persons are retiring. We must pass on the skills and expertise from that incredible generation to the next … We have no time to waste.”

The skilled workers who come out of the facility will also help the province to build new housing, Piccini said. Highways, public transit, and clean energy projects to power the economy are also on the construction to-do list.

The province also announced the launch of its second round of SDF funding with more than $74 million available as of Nov. 29. The fund can be used to build, expand, or retrofit training facilities for workers in the trades, including construction, manufacturing technology, and health care.

The funding, Ford said, will help ensure there are enough workers to keep up with construction demands.

Provincial Infrastructure Priorities

The premier has announced a series of substantial infrastructure developments in recent months, including building a tunnel expressway under Highway 401 to ease gridlock throughout the densely populated Toronto region.

Ford has said the project, which is currently the subject of a feasibility study, will be moving ahead “no matter what.”

The tunnel is just one project aimed at dealing with congested roads in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

The province has begun work on the Bradford Bypass, which will connect Highway 400 and Highway 404 through the York Region. It is also set to extend Highway 413 from Highway 400 in the east to the Highway 401/407 express toll route interchange area in the west beginning in 2025.