Fanshawe approved to offer welding apprenticeship training
London’s Fanshawe College has been given the green light by the province to deliver a welding apprenticeship program.
The program, which will be delivered by the School of Applied Science and Technology, is expected to launch in September 2023 with an initial intake of 20 students. Its goal is to help meet the critical demand for skilled tradespeople across the province.
“Ontario is facing the largest labour shortage in a generation, which means when you have a job in the skilled trades, you have a job for life,” said Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “By investing in training like Fanshawe College’s Welding Apprenticeship program, we are helping to attract and prepare a new generation of welders here in southwestern Ontario for better jobs and bigger paycheques.”
Stephen Patterson, dean of the Faculty of Science, Trades and Technology, says approval from the province confirms Fanshawe’s standing as an apprenticeship-training leader among Ontario colleges.
“Fanshawe is committed to advancing education and apprenticeship in the skilled trades,” he said. “We are proud of the role we play in unlocking the potential of more than 5,000 students studying in nearly 50 programs focused on skilled trades and apprenticeship each year.”
The welding apprenticeship program will be based out of Fanshawe’s newly renovated 50-station welding lab, one of the largest welding training facilities in Southwestern Ontario. The lab was unveiled last summer following a $5-million refurbishment that was funded in part by the province’s Apprenticeship Capital Grant.
The new offering complements 17 existing apprenticeship programs within the construction, industrial, service and motive power sectors that are offered by Fanshawe’s Faculty of Science, Trades and Technology.