WINNIPEG — Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) has undertaken a new initiative to promote female participation in the trades.
This month, the CBTU opened provincial Offices to Advance Women Apprentices (OAWA) throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.
Patricia Hajdu, federal minister of employment, also announced over $3.1 million in federal funding to assist women in apprenticeships over the next three years.
“Canada’s Building Trades Unions are committed to making a career in the skilled trades open for everyone, and with the support of the federal government, the Office to Advance Women Apprentices will identify barriers, track and measure success and work with tradeswomen in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia to increase their chances for success,” said Robert Blakely, Canadian operating officer with the CBTU, in a release. “Today in the construction industry, women represent approximately four per cent of the workforce. Where the OAWA currently exists in Newfoundland, that number sits at 13 per cent, a successful model that we will replicate.”
The effort is being co-ordinated with the provincial Building Trades Unions and the Atlantic Canada Regional Council of Carpenters, Millwrights and Allied Workers. The new offices will create ongoing support services for women seeking or already employed in the skilled construction trades.
Women in the trades can receive career services, employment supports and networking opportunities.
Another goal of the program is to build partnerships with over 75 industry stakeholders including employers, unions and training providers. The offices will also compile better data by building a registry to track services provided and apprenticeship numbers of tradeswomen.
The Social Research Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) has been contracted to provide research and evaluation to assess the impact of the program.
“We are building on this model of success, to create a meaningful program to change the face of construction,” said Lindsay Amundsen, director of workforce development for the CBTU and project manager of the OAWA project. “We will have measurable outcomes that will impact not only the construction industry, but the lives of those women that enter the trades, earn their Red Seal certification and pursue a lifelong career of learning in a challenging industry, with wages and benefits to support their families.”
The CBTU expects approximately 750 female apprentices to benefit from the program, including Indigenous apprentices, increasing the number of women in skilled trades by 30 per cent.
“The skilled trades are facing a shortage of workers, one that has been discussed at length over the last several years,” said Blakely. “One way we address this is to provide assistance and support to those underrepresented in our industry. Diversity and inclusion will create a stronger industry, address issues of respect in the workplace and fill the skills shortage with capable Canadians. We want to build careers for Canadians, not just short-term jobs.”
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