For Immediate Release
October 30th, 2017
Mississauga Strengthens Advanced Manufacturing Sector with Building Skilled Talent Together Mississauga Event
Building on our success to help our advanced manufacturing sector recruit bright, hardworking and committed talent, the City of Mississauga’s Economic Development Office (EDO) is hosting another Building Skilled Talent Together Mississauga networking event on November 21st, Mayor Bonnie Crombie said today.
“Mississauga has a vast and globally competitive advanced manufacturing sector – home to over 1,760 firms employing over 81,000 people locally,” Mayor Crombie said. “Our industries range from aerospace to automotive – from food and beverage – to cleantech.”
“We mean business when it comes to strengthening the advanced manufacturing sector.”
“The event will give local manufacturers the opportunity to speak directly with federal, provincial and regional funding and service representatives who can provide funding options to de-risk the onboarding of new employees or upskilling existing employees,” Mayor Crombie added.
If you are a Mississauga manufacturing company with workforce development challenges and want to obtain direct solutions, please register for Building Skilled Talent Together Mississauga by clicking here.
In May 2017, the City of Mississauga launched the Building Skilled Talent Together (BSTT) Mississauga program. BSTT is an initiative that focuses on developing concrete actionable solutions to the skills gap challenges and the difficulty manufacturers have in filling technical occupations.
The program was kicked off by Mayor Crombie with an event that attracted 100 people from advanced manufacturing companies, education and industry associations to discuss the talent needs in Mississauga.
“From this one Forum, countless opportunities have emerged. In attendance was Japanese-based MHI Canada Aerospace. A month later, I was on the assembly floor at their plant in Malton joined by Mike McCarthy who is with us; promoting the company’s Structural Airplane Apprentice Program; a life-changing opportunity for people to gain in-demand skills, real-world training and a full-time job.”
“Also in attendance was NPower Canada – which prepares young professionals to find rewarding careers in the IT sector. We partnered with NPower to launch its Service Analyst program at its new Mississauga Training Centre. Alumni have gone on to work for leading businesses like Accenture, Deloitte and IBM. Both MHICA and NPower will be on hand for our second annual Mayor’s Youth Employment Expo – taking place on November 19th at City Hall.”
Below are other examples of the exciting outcomes that came out of the inaugural BSTT forum:
- A Food & Beverage company hired a welder from one of our specialized training organizations present
- A firm that serves a number of verticals including aerospace was able to hire a student to assist in design and product development as a result of attending the BSTT event
- A mid-size automotive firm connected with a post-secondary institution at the event to develop a customized leadership and technical skills training program for its existing employees
- An automotive manufacturer committed to support a Mississauga secondary school in their FIRST Robotics programming for students
- The Mississauga Advanced Manufacturing Sector Council, comprised of industry representatives from all subsectors, was created which serves to advise the Advanced Manufacturing Business Integrator for the City of Mississauga, Walter Garrison, on future initiatives to benefit local companies
“By joining us on November 21st, thought leaders from industry, the public sector and from education will make an important, lasting difference,” Mayor Crombie concluded. “We all look forward to hearing the ideas and solutions that come forward to unleash the potential of Mississauga’s local economy.”
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