Program will team up local youth and businesses.
The Ontario government is investing over $2 million to provide free, paid IT job training to over 90 youth in Niagara.
The Town of Lincoln will team up with non-profit organization Civiconnect to offer the training at a Youth Skills Studio in Beamsville.
At least 90 young workers between 15 and 29 years old will get 15 weeks of in-class and on-the-job training.
Skills to be taught include IT marketing, web development and systems administration, as well as teamwork, communication and decision-making.
Participants will help local businesses increase their online presence as they recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
The announcement was made by Minister of Labour Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton, who says the program is great for participating youth and businesses.
"Connecting young people with opportunities in technology is vital to kickstarting their careers while helping our shopkeepers and merchants deal with the impacts of COVID-19. This training program is a win-win for young workers and local businesses looking for help expanding online. This investment meets the challenges of today while training our young workers in the technology of tomorrow."
Students will be in the classroom for five weeks, which will be followed by a paid ten week job placement with one of 75 small to medium sized businesses in Niagara.
The first wave of training is in progress, but additional sessions are taking place September 13th to December 24th, 2021 and January 10th to April 22nd, 2022.
Participants will each get paid around $10,000.
Funding for the program will come from the government's Skills Development Fund.