Launch League Workforce
From layoff to livelihood.
A practical program for Ontario workers affected by tariffs, layoffs and restructuring. Find the next step that fits: another job, a skilled trade, an apprenticeship, working for yourself, or owning a small business.
Five pathways
Your skills, your next step
Employment · Skilled Trades · Apprenticeship · Self-Employment · Business Ownership
Employment
Translate years of industrial experience into what local employers are hiring for, and get introduced.Skilled trades
Which trades fit the skills you already have, what licensing and training take, and who's hiring.Apprenticeship
How to find a sponsor, what training looks like, and what income looks like while you learn.Self-employment
Turn a skill into paid work: pricing, quoting, insurance, HST and getting found locally.Business ownership
A real plan for a service business, reviewed by people who run one.
Why this
Who shows them how to own the company?
Skills they already have
Many workers leaving auto, steel and manufacturing already have the hands-on skills trades businesses are short of. Most transition help points one way: find another job like the last one.
What's usually missing is someone showing the actual path. Which trade fits, what the training takes, who's hiring, and, for anyone who wants it, how a skill becomes a service business with customers, quotes, insurance and a real paycheque.
The pilot
How it works
A short, practical cohort: about 8 to 12 weeks, part-time, in person and online, run with local partners.
Choose a pathway
Start with what you're good at, what you need to earn, and what's realistic where you live. No one is pushed into business ownership.Build the plan
A résumé and trades or apprenticeship plan, or a business plan with real numbers: price, costs, and how many customers it takes.Test it with real people
Local employers, tradespeople and business owners give honest feedback, the same way Launch League's judges review plans.Connect to what's next
Introductions to hiring employers, apprenticeship sponsors, Community Futures lenders and Starter Company programs.
Who's behind it
Built by someone who's grown tradespeople
Launch League Workforce is led by Nick Gonzalez. For eight years he led operations and growth at a Chatham-Kent skilled-trades business with more than 100 employees, helping co-op students become apprentices and journeypersons, and tradespeople grow into supervisors and managers.
Before that he spent 10 years in the U.S. Air Force in construction and financial management. He's a board director with the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce.
It builds on tools Launch League already runs for Ontario: a free Business 101 course, a business plan builder, and a feedback system where working business people review real plans.
For organizations
Bring a pilot to your community
We're starting in Chatham-Kent and talking with partners in communities facing layoffs. Launch League is the delivery partner. Funding applications, such as Skills Advance Ontario or FedDev Ontario's tariff response programming, are led by an eligible local organization.
Workforce boards & employment services
Labour-market fit, outcomes and referrals.Unions & action centres
What members actually need, and how to reach them respectfully.Community Futures & small business centres
Lending, advisory and Starter Company for those who start a business.Municipalities & chambers
Employers who are hiring, mentors, and local backing for a funding application.
For workers
Affected by a layoff? Keep me posted.
There's nothing to enrol in yet. Leave your email and town and we'll tell you when a cohort is confirmed near you. If you need help today, contact your local Employment Ontario office or your union.
Questions
Straight answers
- Is it running now?
- Not yet. Launch League Workforce is a pilot in development. We're talking with workforce, union, municipal and business partners, starting in Chatham-Kent. Sign up for updates and we'll tell you when a cohort is confirmed near you.
- Will it cost anything?
- The aim is for it to be free to participants, funded through government workforce programs with local partners. We'll confirm that before anyone signs up for a cohort.
- Do I have to start a business?
- No. Most people will choose a job, a trade or an apprenticeship. Self-employment and business ownership are there for people who want them, with honest numbers about what it takes.
- Who runs it?
- Launch League, a Chatham-Kent company that runs a free entrepreneurship program and business plan tools for Ontario. It's led by Nick Gonzalez, who spent eight years leading operations and growth at a Chatham-Kent skilled-trades business with more than 100 employees, and is a board director at the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce. Launch League is the delivery partner; funding applications are led by eligible local partners.
- Is my information shared?
- No. Worker sign-ups are used only to tell you about Launch League Workforce in your area. We don't share them with employers, unions or anyone else.
Launch League Workforce is a pilot in development. Details, timing and funding will be confirmed with local partners before any cohort opens.