60,000 jobseekers: Ontario expands skilled trades career fairs

Ontario is expanding its Level Up! Skilled Trades Career Fairs this fall in a move aimed at helping employers and HR departments address mounting labour shortages in the trades.

The fairs are now targeting to connect more than 60,000 students and jobseekers with in‑demand, good‑paying careers.

“To deliver on our government’s historic $236-billion infrastructure plan, Ontario will need an additional 400,000 workers in the skilled trades over the next decade,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We will continue to invest in innovative programs that introduce students and young people to the skills they need to land in-demand careers and bigger paycheques.”

Multi‑day events are planned to happen in 12 communities between Sept. 23 and Dec. 10. 

Recently, the Ontario government announced that it and the federal government are investing $228.8 million over three years to help up to 27,000 workers retrain and upgrade their skills in response to U.S. tariffs and global trade disruptions.

Career fairs across Ontario

The Level Up! Skilled Trades Career Fairs will feature interactive exhibits, hands‑on demonstrations and opportunities to speak directly with employers, unions and training providers, according to the province. The Ontario government says the format is designed to give participants practical exposure to different trades and a clearer understanding of training and career pathways.

The fairs are designed primarily for students in Grades 7 to 12, but are open to all students, parents, guardians, educators and jobseekers. Each event will include daytime sessions for school groups and a free community open house intended to give families and the wider public a chance to learn more about skilled trades careers, the Ontario government said.

Events will be held over 29 days in Cobourg (September 23–24), Kingston (September 29–30), Barrie (October 6–7), Timmins (October 14–15), Thunder Bay (October 21–22), Sudbury (October 28–29), Hamilton (November 3–5), Windsor (November 11–12), London (November 17–19), Ottawa (November 24–26), Oshawa (December 1–3) and Mississauga (December 8–10). The geographic spread is intended to give students and employers in both urban and regional areas access to the fairs.

The events will showcase all 144 skilled trades in Ontario and highlight local apprenticeship and training opportunities. The initiative comes as “roughly one in three tradespeople” in the province is nearing retirement and “hundreds of thousands of additional workers” will be needed over the next decade, the Ontario government said. Those demographic trends are already increasing pressure on HR teams to refine succession plans and strengthen recruitment channels.

Focused on skilled trades in Ontario

“Our government is focused on making sure Ontario workers have the skills, resources and opportunities they need to succeed,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “The Level Up! career fairs continue to open more doors for students and jobseekers to explore careers in the skilled trades, connect directly with employers and see firsthand the opportunities available to them.”

To help meet long‑term demand, Ontario is aiming to engage 500,000 youth in the skilled trades by 2030 through initiatives such as Level Up! and the Trade and Tech Trucks programme. The province described Level Up! as part of its plan “to protect Ontario by building a highly skilled workforce ready to meet growing demand and keep Ontario resilient into the future,” a goal that aligns with employers’ need for a more predictable talent pipeline.

Earlier this year, as part of a new package of workforce measures, the federal government opened applications for a Worker Retention Grant for Work‑Sharing employers, aiming to help businesses hold on to staff while workers retrain during periods of reduced activity.

Scale of the labour shortage (provincial government figures)