New Internship Program aims to Attract and Retain Skilled Workforce to Northern Ontario

Today, Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines and Minister of Indigenous Affairs, announced the government is launching a new Northern Ontario Internship Program.

“Changes to the internship program ensure our government is well-positioned to assist northern employers in providing work experience to a broader range of interns,” said Minister Rickford. “We are removing barriers to participation in the Northern Ontario Internship Program so that more organizations can provide on-the-job career development and address skilled labour shortages.”

By removing the requirement that applicants be recent university or college graduates, Ontario is supporting a wider variety of internships, including skilled trades, and addressing the unique needs of other in-demand jobs throughout the region. Program candidates will now include new entrants into the workforce, those transitioning to a new career, the unemployed and underemployed.

The new Northern Ontario Internship Program will have two funding streams:

• The Northern Ontario Indigenous Internships Stream highlights the importance of the North’s Indigenous population to the region’s economy and workforce while providing employers with greater incentive to offer Indigenous internship opportunities.
• The Northern Ontario Skilled Labour Internships Stream places an enhanced focus on addressing skills shortages in areas such as the skilled trades and provides apprentices with the ability to attend required training throughout their placement.

“We are strengthening Northern Ontario’s competitive advantage and building economic development capacity by attracting, training and retaining a highly skilled workforce,” said Minister Rickford. “Above all, we are taking action to make Northern Ontario open for business.”