Hamilton literacy providers are applauding a $3.8 million investment announced in Hamilton this morning.

The money is part of a $90 million, two-year commitment to enhanced literacy programs announced in the province’s spring budget. It will boost local literacy funding by close to $1 million.

Investment in knowledge and skills is key to helping Ontario cope with the recession, said John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities at the downtown YWCA building.

“We constantly encounter the sad tales of laid-off workers who want retraining for a new career but can’t because of literacy skills,” he said.

Across the province, the government is investing an additional $25 million in literacy programs for laid-off workers and other adult learners to train for highly skilled jobs. Hamilton will get just over $3.6 million, divided between the Hamilton and District Literacy Council, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre, the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, Mohawk College and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

Milloy says the new funding will allow 13,000 more people to train for high-skill jobs.

It’s estimated that 3.4 million Ontario adults have literacy skills below a high school level but by 2020, about 70 per cent of new jobs are expected to require postsecondary education.

Ontario is also investing $3 million in research projects to improve adult literacy services and create a new provincial curriculum. Of that, $223,500 will go to the Adult Basic Education Association of Hamilton-Wentworth to strengthen literacy training provided by Employment Ontario.

The announcement also included $5 million to expand online literacy training for those in remote communities.

“This investment will equip our city’s residents with the skills they need to conquer today’s challenging job market,” said Hamilton Mountain MPP Sophia Aggelonitis. “It will have positive effects in every area of our economy.”