Liberals announce $258.6M for skilled worker training

FOR the second day in a row, the federal government has announced plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to train more skilled workers in Canada.

Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu was in her home riding of Thunder Bay, Ont., on Friday, rolling out a plan to spend up to $258.6 million over the next five years to train workers in critical sectors, with annual funding of $50 million in the years to follow.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the creation of a Sectoral Workforce Innovation Fund a little over a year ago, and the government opened applications for the program in August.

Hajdu's announcement came one day after Ottawa unveiled $430 million in spending to help unions and other organizations cover costs for new training facilities and equipment.