Latest Round of Funding is Part of Province's $2.5 Billion Investment in Skills Development Fund
NEWS
July 29, 2025
BEAMSVILLE – The Ontario government is continuing to deliver on its plan to protect workers by launching the sixth round of the Training Stream of the Skills Development Fund. This current round of funding will provide $260 million for innovative projects that support the hiring, training and upskilling of workers in manufacturing, health care, construction, automotive and other skilled trades. This investment is part of the government's $2.5 billion investment through the Skills Development Fund to protect Ontario workers by giving them the tools they need to land rewarding, good-paying jobs, while keeping Ontario competitive in the face of American tariffs and global economic uncertainty.
"In a border community like Niagara, this historic investment through the Skills Development Fund is critical to helping protect local workers and job creators," said Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West.
"This provincial support will help secure our future by providing opportunities for good jobs and careers with secure paycheques."
"Our government is protecting Ontario by training the workers we need to keep building, no matter what global challenges come our way," said Hon. David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
"Through this $260 million investment in the Skills Development Fund, we are funding results-driven training to build the strong workforce we need to support workers and their families and keep building Ontario's economy."
After five successful rounds of the of the Training Stream of the Skills Development Fund, starting today, a wide range of organizations can now apply for project funding. Employers, employment service and training providers, labour unions, business and industry organizations, hospitals, Indigenous Band offices, Indigenous skills and employment training agreement holders, service system managers and other community organizations eligible for funding can submit their proposals through Transfer Payment Ontario. Applications will close on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
The announcement was made today in Toronto, where Minister Piccini also announced an investment of over $20 million through the fifth round of the Skills Development Fund to train 4,825 workers and jobseekers for careers in the skilled trades, hospitality and Artificial Intelligence in health care.
"Ontario is home to some of the most talented workers anywhere in the world, and it is because of their contributions to our economy and our communities that our government will always be there to support them," said Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy, Minister of Finance.
"In the face of continued economic headwinds, we are leveraging this latest round of funding to hire, train and upskill current and future generations of workers who will empower our province’s economic growth, and help us protect Ontario."
"Ontario needs a strong, safe and well-trained workforce to deliver the critical infrastructure our province depends on," said Ian DeWaard, Provincial Director of the Christian Labour Association of Canada.
"We are pleased to support today's announcement and proud to continue our partnership with the Ontario government through this important investment."
Since its launch in 2021, the Skills Development Fund has supported over 1,000 training projects across the province that aims to connect over 700,000 people with training for better jobs with bigger paycheques. As announced in the 2025 Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario, this next round of funding is part of the government's nearly $1 billion expansion of the Skills Development Fund over the next three years, for a total of $2.5 billion, to support major industries and sectors while training the workers needed to build and strengthen Ontario's economy to withstand whatever comes our way
Quick Facts:
Applications for the sixth round of the Training Stream the Skills Development Fund open today, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. People interested in applying to the Training Stream of the Skills Development Fund can visit the Skills Development Fund website and contact skillsdevelopmentfund@ontario.ca for more information. People interested in participating in the projects announced today are encouraged to contact the lead organizations of the projects directly.
The Skills Development Fund has two streams - the Training Stream, which supports hiring, training and upskilling programs for jobseekers, apprentices and workers - and the Capital Stream, which supports upgrades or construction of training centres to train people for emerging and in-demand jobs in critical sectors of Ontario's economy.
Since its launch in 2021, the Training Stream of the Skills Development Fund has aimed to help over 700,000 workers train for in-demand sectors, including over 154,000 construction workers, over 124,000 manufacturing workers and over 52,000 personal support workers and health care workers.
In the fifth round of funding, a total of 816 applications were received. Of these, 246 projects were selected, representing a total investment of $345 million to support the training of over 121,700 individuals.
- The first five rounds of the Training Stream of the Skills Development Fund were supported through labour market transfer agreements between the federal government and Ontario government. The sixth round of the Training Stream of the Skills Development Fund is supported exclusively by the province.
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