Ontario Government Teams Up With LinkedIn To Offer Free Employment Course

Workers will have access to over 17,000 courses with videos taught by experts that deal with high in-demand skills employers are looking for

By Dami Igbinyemi

Covid-19 continues to create problems for businesses, workers, job seekers and communities across the world. With businesses having to endure multiple lockdowns for over a year and a half, a return to normalcy is welcomed. As the Canadian businesses slowly begin to reopen, the economy will start to rebound, and employment rates will start to climb.

Today, the Ontario government plans to invest $5.8 million in free online training to help workers gain and improve the skills needed to find jobs and restart their careers. The Ford government is partnering up with LinkedIn to ensure that the course training is aligned with jobs available on their platform. Employees will be able to use tools provided in the program to build connections with employers and apply for jobs quicker.

“As our province safely and steadily reopens we’re seeing strong demand for qualified workers across many industries,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development. “There are more than 250,000 jobs in Ontario going unfilled today. Many hardworking people are eager to start these new, well-paying and purpose-driven careers. Through this partnership with LinkedIn, we’ve identified the top skills employers are looking for and we’re offering free online training to help workers and their families get back on their feet.”

Workers will have access to over 17,000 courses with videos taught by experts that deal with high in-demand skills employers are looking for. To ensure everyone can use this platform, courses are also available in English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Mandarin, and Portuguese. Career advisors are also be made available to help and guide each workers’ personal career goal.

The funding for this project is coming from the government’s $115 million Skills Development Fund. The Skills Development Fund is offering two rounds of funding to organizations that deal with hiring, training, and retaining workers during this pandemic. The first round was in February 2021 and offered up to $100 million. The second round of funding will offer $15 million.

This free online training will only be offered until March 31st, 2022, on LinkedIn. To apply, workers can contact their local employment service provider, or click here to sign up.

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