In a bid to fill hundreds of unfilled jobs across the province, the Ontario government is investing $5.8-million in free online training to help people find new jobs.
The funding is part of the government's $115-million Skills Development Fund set up to address challenges in hiring, training, and retraining workers because of the pandemic. It is included in the 2021 Ontario budget.
The courses, 17,000 of them through LinkedIn Talent Solutions, focus on building skills in demand by employers in business administration, finance, and information technology. They are free and available until March 31, 2022.
"There are opportunities out there," said Minister Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton, pointing to the 250,000 currently unfilled positions across Ontario. "Training in the world is changing, and we must keep up. This project will provide a fresh start to thousands of workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own."
McNaughton noted many of those unfilled positions are high-paying.
"This includes careers as computer programmers and interactive media developers making an average of $81,400 per year, financial and investment analysts who make around $78,000 per year, and human resources professionals who earn about $72,000," he said.
LinkedIn is the most popular job board in Canada, with over 17-million users. Users can apply through Employment Ontario or by going online to linkedin.firstwork.org.
Last month, Ontario's jobless rate was 8.4 per cent. It is hoped the initiative will fill 100,000 positions.