Windsor picked to deliver new Ontario employment pilot project

The Province of Ontario will start a new 18-month pilot program based in Windsor that will help better connect local job seekers to available work opportunities in the region.

Workforce WindsorEssexhas been selected by the province to deliver one of eight Local Employment Planning Council pilot projects across Ontario.

Local Employment Planning Councils will act as a hub to connect employers, industry associations, sector groups and other employer groups with appropriate labour market information, according to a news release issued by the province.

"Accurate, up-to-date, local labour market information is crucial to ensure local businesses, government, educational institutions and job-seekers can make better, more informed decisions," the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities said in a new release issued Tuesday.

Under the pilot, the province said Workforce WindsorEssex will also "pioneer new and innovative approaches to local employment planning in the Windsor area" by:

• Gathering and sharing local labour market information such as the supply of available workers in relation to available jobs.
• Supporting integrated service and workforce planning by connecting employers, service providers, and other key organizations with critical information to address workforce needs in the region.
• Working with the community to help make sure employment and training programs provide job-seekers with the skills and training that employers in Windsor need.
• Supporting innovative, local projects that address labour market issues specific to Windsor.

Pilots are also being established in Durham, Peel-Halton, London-Middlesex-Oxford, Ottawa, Peterborough, Timmins and Thunder Bay.

"It is critical to have strong local labour market information to better anticipate where our actual labour gaps may be and where current and future employment opportunities will occur, and I am confident that these pilot projects will provide communities like Windsor with valuable insights for both job seekers as well as employers,"Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Reza Moridi said in a media release.

"Workforce WindsorEssex is pleased to have been selected to deliver the Local Employment Planning Council pilot, and looks forward to working with Ontario to benefit the local community through activities such as workforce development and planning, community engagement, program innovation, and gathering local labour market intelligence," Tanya Antoniw, executive director, Workforce WindsorEssex, said in the same release. "Workforce WindsorEssex has developed extensive partnerships with various stakeholders in the Windsor-Essex community and looks forward to working with these partners and establishing new partnerships to achieve positive outcomes through this pilot initiative."