GEORGINA, ONT. -- Georgina's new school hopes to fill a shortage of skilled trade workers and the affordable housing crisis.

Students will learn the trades while giving back to the region with over $4-million from the province.

The project allows for eight trades to be trained in a 26-week program.

"The students are actually going to build something, a tangible item, which is the homes. The homes will be built, that we deliver on-site, and then once they are on-site, we occupy it," explained Skills Trade Institue Georgina Director Phillips Adams.

The trades include HVAC, electrical, plumbing, roofing and flooring.

Mayor Margaret Quirk said the one-of-a-kind program will fill a need in the community.

"Affordable housing is a topic in every community across Ontario if not across the nation and worldwide. So certainly having GTTI be able to build affordable housing units and put those into the market place is huge, not only for our community but for the residents who would be able to afford to purchase those homes," Quirk said.

York-Simcoe MPP Caroline Mulroney said the trained workers would be vital in restarting the economy.

"Even before the pandemic, we had a shortage of those in the skilled trades, so it was a priority since day one. It's expected that in the coming years, one in five jobs in Ontario will be in the skilled trade," she said.

The program is expected to get underway in January.

Students don't need any experience to apply, and tuition is free.