Former Local 444 president moves into a new role to help province improve skilled trades

The former Windsor union president was named skilled trades partnership advisor.

A new role for the former president of Unifor Local 444 in Windsor after preparing a report to help the province address Ontario’s skilled trades needs.

David Cassidy is now the Skilled Trades Partnership Advisor, reporting to the CEO of Skilled Trades Ontario, a role that will see him help implement 20 recommendations laid out in his report.

In May 2024, Cassidy was appointed a Skilled Trades Special Advisor (STSA) to the Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development, almost a month after announcing his retirement from the union.

He recently submitted the report to the province after spending nearly two years assessing the workforce needs in Ontario’s skilled trades sector, with a focus on the manufacturing and automotive industries, including electric vehicles (EV).

Cassidy says too often reports get put on a shelf, but Labour Minister David Piccini has a vision for world-class skilled trades in the province.

“There are some short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals, but if we can get moving forward on some of these low-hanging fruit ones, per se, it would make a big difference,” he said.

The focus of the report is on making sure Ontario is positioned to respond to rapid developments and expansion of manufacturing and automotive sectors while identifying issues, challenges, and areas of improvement within Ontario’s skilled trades and apprenticeship system.

Cassidy says he’s excited to put the recommendations into action because the government wants to make sure we’re actually building things and actually trying to promote the skilled trades.

He says it’s not like it used to be when it comes to the skilled trades.

“They’re really recognizing the fact that there are three types of education. There are college, university, and apprenticeship. They’re really acknowledging that. If you want to make some good money and get involved in the trades, they’re opening the doors to make sure this is getting done in the province,” said Cassidy.

It’s expected the province will release Cassidy’s report and its recommendations by this summer.