Workforce Windsor-Essex is trying to grow the local workforce by re-engaging workers who are not working.
The agency says about 40% of working-age people in Windsor-Essex are either not working or looking for work.
It also wants to train more lower-skilled workers for in-demand jobs in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and healthcare to fill a big gap in skilled trades.
Senior Manager of Public Affairs Justin Falconer, Senior Manager of Public Affairs, says apprenticeships are encouraged if you don’t want to work in fast food or retail.
"There's a huge demand for apprentices right now. They're trying to make that process simpler than ever for people to navigate. So, it's a matter of finding an employer, a sponsor or a union to take them on," says Falconer.
Falconer says apprenticeship registrations decreased from 2016 to 2017 despite the demand for skilled tradespeople.
He says people looking for work can access no charge services from the City of Windsor, the Unemployed Help Centre, the New Canadian Centre of Excellence, and about eight other local free employment agencies or private employment agencies.
Falconer says employers are finding it difficult to recruit qualified workers because they're aging and don't want to work full-time.
"Those people that have, for whatever reason, decided not to participate, those people have very employable skills. They have a great education in a lot of cases and those people can get back into our workforce and you know what they're needed," he says.
Falconer says the job market is hot right now and needs people to return to work either full-time, part-time, or by job sharing.
"A lot of those people that have been not participating, the prospect of a full-time job is really something they're disinterested in because they have kids and aging parents," Falconer says.