Provincial funding aims to bolster electric vehicle job creation

To lay the groundwork for the automotive workforce of the future, the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN), the Ontario government and other partners are engaging youth about the jobs available in the critical minerals industry.

Critical minerals – including cobalt, natural graphite, lithium, manganese and nickel -- are crucial for building electric vehicles and EV battery production.

To lay the groundwork for the automotive workforce of the future, the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network, the Ontario government and other partners are engaging youth about the jobs available in the critical minerals industry. (Eric Taschner/CTV News)

Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, said the government's focus is on job creation.

“Our interest really is the jobs and making the battery and the components of the battery,” Fedeli said.

Building on findings of a strategy released in May, OVIN launched the Regional Future Workforce Critical Mineral Pilot Program for future job creation.

“If you look across the globe, it’s well known that Ontario is leading the future of the automotive sector,” said OVIN head Raed Kadri.

The government is chipping in $1.7 million so eight non-profit organizations and post-secondary schools in southern and northern Ontario can introduce students to careers of the future in critical minerals for electric vehicle and battery production.

Recipients in northern Ontario include Canadore College, College Boreal, Lakehead University and NORCAT.

To lay the groundwork for the automotive workforce of the future, the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network, the Ontario government and other partners are engaging youth about the jobs available in the critical minerals industry. Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, said the government's focus is on job creation.(Eric Taschner/CTV News)

OVIN head Raed Kadri said Ontario is a world leader in developing the EV automotive sector. (Eric Taschner/CTV News)

“This is the first time that the north has been part of the auto sector in more than 100 years,” Fedeli said.

Canadore's Innovation Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Prototyping opened its doors to more than 100 secondary school students from Nipissing, Parry Sound and West Nipissing.

They are learning about electric vehicles, sustainable energy, and critical mineral extraction/processing sectors. Canadore received $108,825.

“We’re introducing high school students to the careers that are becoming available as this sector continues to evolve,” said Canadore president George Burton.

“Collectively, we’re building that workforce.”

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Within the program, post-secondary institutions and non-profit organizations hosted workshops, day camps and other educational and training activities in partnership with mining and EV battery technology industry leaders, school boards, Indigenous communities and other stakeholders in Ontario’s critical minerals sector.

Delivered over two months, the eight projects engaged about 5,000 students, primarily in northern Ontario, providing them with an opportunity to learn about electric vehicle and battery technologies and explore career opportunities in the mining industry.

"The province is not leaving one part of this out," Kadri said.

"They’re bringing in the manufacturers. They’re building up our suppliers. They’re inspiring the next generation of our tech companies and they’re making sure we have all the talent to power all this."

The program’s goal is to find more than 3,000 new workers in the province’s critical minerals sector by 2040 to fill future job gaps in electric vehicle and battery production.