Skilled Trades Supports for Employers - A Free Workshop in Peterborough

Join us to hear tips on expanding your hiring pool, reducing recruitment costs, retaining apprentices, and finding resources and training for your employees. This free workshop for small and medium-sized employers in the trades is being held Friday February 21, 2025 8:30 to 10:00 am. You’ll learn about a new resource for employers, hear from a local trades person, and learn about local services, all free and we provide breakfast.

See below for details or Register Here

Learning Ontario Central South (LOCS), the Workforce Development Board, and Literacy Link South Central (LLSC), have joined forces to offer additional supports to small and medium-sized employers (SMEs) in the skilled trades.

We’re excited to be hosting the Small Employers in the Skilled Trades: Find and Retain Apprentices in-person event designed to meet the needs of SMEs in the skilled trades.

Small and medium-sized employers (SMEs) in the skilled trades are in competition with larger organizations to recruit and retain their workforce. A strong workforce and expansion of skilled trades workers is essential as our economy and infrastructure continue to grow. We know that many workers are retiring out of the trades over the next few years, so finding and developing new talent is crucial.

We’ll also be showcasing the FREE online resources from the new Step UP and Succeed Employer Resource Hub. This hub has been designed with feedback from employers and will help you attract, retain and support your apprentices and your entire workforce.

Guest speaker Mike Whitfield, a retired employer of over 40 years in the trades, will also be sharing how he implemented these strategies to successfully grow his business and support his workforce.

This transformative and FREE event on is one you’ll want to attend. Reserve your seat as space is limited! (Free breakfast included)

Register Here

When: Friday February 21, 2025 from 8:30 to 10:00am
Where: Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce
Hosts: Learning Ontario Central South and the Workforce Development Boar
Register for the Workshop: Small Employers in the Skilled Trades: Find and Retain Apprentices

Please see below for additional details around what you can expect at the event.

Attend this workshop if:

• hiring an apprentice seems too expensive and time-consuming
• you’re tired of the apprenticeship revolving door
• you want to learn how to find the right apprentice
• you want to expand your hiring pool
• you’d like to reduce costs for attraction, training, and daily operations
• you wish to retain your talent in a competitive
• you’d like to hear from a small business owner how they implement these strategies

At this in-person event you’ll:

• learn how to access FREE support for you and your apprentices!
• hear real examples and solutions to common apprenticeship challenges
• learn of free and flexible upskilling programs for your apprentices
• gain access to the Step Up & Succeed Resource Hub – complete with ready-made resources to support your apprentice
• meet your local Learning Network to learn how they can help

Agenda

Keynote Speaker: Jan Gourley
Jan Gourley is a Project Manager at Literacy Link South Central (LLSC) and the coordinator of the Step Up and Succeed initiative, a provincial project that supports small and medium-sized employers in the trades. Jan brings experience in technical support, customer care, business management and operations to her role. As a former Child Development Practitioner apprentice and a licensed Early Childhood Educator, Jan brings a unique understanding of the apprenticeship system to her role at LLSC. Jan has been helping employers around the province to develop the tools to attract, train and retain apprentices. She developed this workshop and the resources in consultation with employers from the trades. Jan recognizes the needs and perspectives of apprentices, trainers, employers, and both the apprenticeship and adult education systems.

Presenter: Mike Whitfield

Mike is the former owner of Whitefield Home Improvement Inc. which has been providing general contracting, construction and a range of home improvement services in the Peterborough area for over 30 years. Mike brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with over 40 years in the trades and 30 years as a General Contractor. He was the winner of the “Outstanding Achievement, General Carpenter” award from Sir Sanford Fleming College in 1992. He also won the “Peterborough Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award” in 2013 in the Skilled Trades Category. He was a member of the Literacy and the Trades Committee for the Literacy Ontario Central South Region for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Mike will be discussing hiring from a broader talent pool and how implementing some of the strategies shared in the Employer Resource Hub have helped his business flourish.

This Employment Ontario project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.

Register Here