Dofasco invests in skilled trades training with largest corporate donation in Mohawk’s history
HAMILTON – Two provincial leaders in apprenticeship training have further strengthened a long-standing partnership and created opportunities for more students to pursue rewarding careers in skilled trades professions.
Dofasco is investing $1 million in Mohawk’s transformation of the college’s Stoney Creek campus into the Mohawk Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Research, Resources and Training (STARRT) Institute. Skilled trades enrolment at the STARRT Institute will double to 1,020 students and apprenticeship opportunities will grow by 35 per cent, to 3,571 students a year. The Dofasco investment represents the single largest corporate donation in Mohawk’s 39-year history.
“This donation today is not only an investment in Mohawk’s future, but an investment in our own future,” says Dofasco President and CEO Jacques Chabanier, noting that 90 per cent of Dofasco apprentices are trained at Mohawk. “We believe the availability of skilled tradespeople in this region is critical to our business and to Hamilton’s economy. Our contribution is an investment in Hamilton’s success and the competitiveness of Hamilton as a place to do business.” Dofasco, which has one of the largest apprenticeship programs in Ontario, spends nearly $15 million annually to give apprentices the skills and knowledge that are critical to the operation and maintenance of equipment.
“Dofasco has been a long-standing champion of skilled trades and apprenticeships,” says President MaryLynn West-Moynes. “Dofasco is recognized both nationally and internationally for providing students and graduates with outstanding learning and work opportunities. Dofasco’s record-setting corporate investment in the Mohawk STARRT Institute will help create opportunities for more students to pursue rewarding careers in skilled trades, building on a solid foundation of innovation and skills to foster a global competitive advantage.” Mohawk is the largest trainer of skilled trades and apprenticeship students in Ontario, and apprenticeship enrolment has grown 14 per cent at Mohawk in the past five years.
Among the early supporters of the Mohawk STARRT Institute are the Ontario government with a $2.15 million investment, Hamilton City Council with approval of a $1.5 million Hamilton Future Fund grant and the family and friends of the late Gerald Marshall, with the single largest family donation of $1.2 million.
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