Latest round of funding is part of the province’s $2.5 billion investment in the Skills Development Fund
The Ontario government is continuing to deliver on its plan to protect workers by launching the sixth round of the Skills Development Fund (SDF) Training Stream. This round will provide $260 million for innovative projects that support the hiring, training and upskilling of workers in manufacturing, health care, construction, automotive and other skilled trades. This investment is part of the government’s $2.5 billion investment through SDF to protect Ontario workers by giving them the tools they need to land rewarding, good-paying jobs, while keeping Ontario competitive in the face of U.S. tariffs and global economic uncertainty.
“Our government is protecting Ontario by training the workers we need to keep building, no matter what global challenges come our way,” said David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. “Through this $260 million investment in the Skills Development Fund, we’re funding results-driven training to build the strong workforce we need to support workers and their families and keep building Ontario’s economy.”
After five successful rounds of the SDF training stream, starting today, a wide range of organizations can now apply for project funding. Employers, employment service and training providers, labour unions, business and industry organizations, hospitals, Indigenous Band offices, Indigenous skills and employment training agreement holders, service system managers and other community organizations eligible for funding can submit their proposals through Transfer Payment Ontario. Applications will close on October 1, 2025.
The announcement was made today in Toronto, where Minister Piccini also announced an investment of over $20 million through the fifth round of SDF to train 4,825 workers and jobseekers for careers in the skilled trades, hospitality and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care. These projects include:
Since its launch in 2021, Ontario’s SDF has supported over 1,000 training projects across the province that aims to connect over 700,000 people with training for better jobs with bigger paycheques. As announced in the 2025 Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario, this next round of funding for the SDF Training Stream is part of the government’s nearly $1 billion expansion of the SDF over the next three years, for a total of $2.5 billion, to support major industries and sectors while training the workers needed to build and strengthen Ontario’s economy to withstand whatever comes our way