NGen $19M workforce transformation program with support from ESDC
by CM staff
Future Ready funding now available to support upskilling in the Canadian manufacturing sector.
HAMILTON — Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen), the industry-led organization leading Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing has announced the launch of Future Ready, a $19 million program funded in part by Employment and Social Development Canada’s Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program to support companies in onboarding new and diverse workers to Canadian manufacturing.
“One of the most exciting aspects of this program is in helping companies identify the specific critical skills gaps within their current workforce,” said Stewart Cramer, Chief Manufacturing Officer, NGen. “We are excited to support their strategic objectives and to assist them in addressing many of these gaps through training plans and upskilling grants.”
The initiative will also aid Canadian manufacturers in identifying their critical skills gaps to support the future profitability and growth of their organization through NGen’s Transformation Leadership Program. Through these approaches, the program aims to provide solutions for the manufacturing sector, one of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic, and a key to the recovery of the Canadian economy.
Through Future Ready, NGen will deliver against three priority objectives to support the Canadian manufacturing sector:
Develop and validate approaches to onboarding new workers to manufacturing, particularly representatives of equity-deserving communities, including newcomers to Canada;
Validate methodologies by which companies can identify the critical skills gaps within their workforce which must be closed to maintain competitiveness and provide opportunities to close those gaps; and
Assess competencies of manufacturing employees across sectors concerning new and emerging technologies and identify where critical competencies currently reside within Canadian manufacturing.
“Our government knows that the most successful workforces are those powered by diversity, and manufacturing is no different,” said François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “This is why we’re proud to support NGen’s efforts to identify and close skills gaps. By equipping companies with the means to recruit and retain workers new to the sector, we are strengthening Canada’s competitive edge and opening up well-paying jobs.”
