BRANTFORD, ON, December 17, 2020 – Today, the association’s Chair joined the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development at Cestar College of Business, Health and Technology in Toronto to announce the redesigned Second Career program.
The province is reworking the Second Career program to support workers laid off due to COVID‑19 by making it easier for them to retrain and upgrade their skills.
The improvements are part of a $180.5 million investment over three years to help workers affected by the pandemic retrain and upgrade their skills.
The redesign consists of two stages, with the first stage applying short term adjustments to strategically refocus the program within the context of COVID‑19 and economic recovery. The second stage focuses on modernizing Second Career and further aligning the program with other workforce development and training initiatives.
The changes prioritize retraining laid-off workers from low-skill occupations from sectors hardest hit by COVID-19. The program features shortened training-durations for job seekers, with a focus to train in occupations that are in demand within local communities and priority sectors.
“This is how we can let businesses grow after this pandemic, help people land good jobs, and get Ontario back on track,” said Minister Monte McNaughton.
“Our members know first-hand the challenges workers face in retraining for a new career,” said Adrian Sharma, CCO Chair and Director at Cestar College. “Career colleges are proud to support these students as they look for a pathway that delivers fast, focused and local training—this is what career colleges are designed to do.”
The improvements to the Second Career program are effective today. Ontarians interested in retraining can learn more by visiting Employment Ontario.
CCO is a non-profit association advocating for the equitable treatment of career college students and a level playing field for its member institutions. The association represents 240 campuses and roughly 80 per cent of Ontario’s career college student population. CCO’s member campuses contribute to Ontario’s economy by providing highly qualified graduates in hundreds of essential, skilled fields such as Applied Arts, Business, Healthcare, Human Services, Information Technology, Services and Trades.
For further information, please contact:
Dyson Wells
Marketing and Communications Officer
dysonwells@careercollegesontario.ca
(519) 752-2124 Ext.115
Career Colleges Ontario (CCO) represents a vast network of over 280 regulated career college campuses across Ontario. These colleges have been integral to Ontario’s post-secondary […]
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