The provincial government announced Wednesday that they’re forgiving the loans for apprentices while establishing a grant for the future.
The loan program was used by 19,000 apprentices in Ontario, who used provincial funding to purchase equipment to begin their career.
Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, Monte McNaughton, says this is a workforce the province has been driven to help.
In total, the government is forgiving $10.6 million in apprentice loans, while putting together the new $10 million Ontario Tools Grant, which will also provide help for qualified apprentices.
McNaughton says this is valuable as there’s a hotbed of opportunity in trades in both job openings to ongoing infrastructure projects.
