A group of women apprentice ironworkers are entering the workforce at North West Redwater Partnership’s (NWR) Sturgeon Refinery in Alberta, after graduating from a new training program delivered by Women Building Futures (WBF).
"Our approach in all of this is to help these women really understand from the perspective of the company what they need to know to be successful ironworkers," said JudyLynn Archer, president and CEO, WBF.
"So, that they can go out there every day, and make sure they are not hurt or anyone else, and that they are productive every day."
The first group of women ironworkers recently graduated from the Ironworker Readiness class, which is offered by WBF in partnership with NWR and the Alberta Ironworkers Apprenticeship and Training Plan (Local 720).
Archer said a total of 11 women graduated from the four week intensive pre-apprenticeship training program, which involved two weeks with WBF and two weeks with Ironworkers Local 720.
"So, essentially the two weeks with WBF is focused on safety certification, productivity, workplace culture and fitness. These are all of the soft skills, which can really make the difference between success and failure," said Archer. "Then they spend the next two weeks at the ironworkers local getting the very specific hands-on skilled training for their work as ironworkers. They were hired and registered as apprentices as soon as they finished the program."
The Ironworker Readiness class started with WBF’s Best Practices for Working in Construction in a Safe and Productive Way, Healthy Choices for Productive Work, Movement Sequencing and She Works: Financial Tool Kit.
These courses were followed by Worksite Safety Certification: Standard First Aid, CPR Level One, Construction Safety Training System and Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, Oil Sands Safety Association Elevated Work Platform, Oil Sands Safety Association Fall Protection.
Local 720 provided all of the hands-on skill training. The ironworker trade includes fabricating and constructing structural steel buildings, bridges, pre-cast structures and ornamental ironwork and joining scaffolding.
Tuition for the program was provided by NWR, and work experience and employment at NWR’s Sturgeon Refinery was provided by Fluor Canada and PCL Industrial Constructors Inc.
Participants were indentured as ironworking apprentices with the Alberta Ironworker Apprenticeship and Training Plan.
There were a total of 1665 ironworker apprentices registered in Alberta in 2015. Out of this total there were 84 women.
This means the WBF program has increased Alberta’s female ironworking apprentices by 13 per cent through the graduation of this one class in May.
Apprenticeship retention and completion support is provided by WBF and Alberta Ironworkers Apprenticeship and Training to ensure the ongoing success of these 11 graduates. Recruitment for the program began in November 2015 with a pre-assessment process, which focused on the engagement of Aboriginal women and women living in local communities.
"The primary reason for doing the assessment is that the completion rates for people who come into the trades are very low," said Archer. "Part of the reason for this is people come into the trade without a full awareness. They are not fully informed about what they are coming in to."
For this reason, Archer said about one in ten applicants were selected for the four week pre-apprenticeship training program.
The creation of this program was initiated by NWR management who want to recruit skilled tradespeople for the construction and maintenance of the Sturgeon Refinery, located near Edmonton.
"The grand idea of this project is that it is Albertans building this thing, and we are trying to do it the best way we can for the people who live here," said Ian MacGregor, president and chairman, NW Refining Inc., a 50 per cent partner in the NWR Partnership. "We are building a refinery and that is really important, but the goal that is on the horizon is we want to do it with Albertans. We start with the fundamental belief that if you build these things with the people who live here, you can do it cost effectively."
North West Upgrading is a private company that has partnered 50/50 with Canadian Natural Resources Limited to form the NWR Partnership to build an oil refinery with an integrated CO2 solution.
The $8.5 million first phase of the refinery will produce 50,000 barrels a day and be located within the heavy industrial region of Sturgeon County on land about 45 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
Construction started on underground work at the end of the third quarter of 2013 and is scheduled for completion in fall 2017.
The first ever all woman class of pre-apprentice ironworkers recently graduated from the Ironworker Readiness class, delivered by Women Building Futures in partnership with North West Redwater Partnership’s Sturgeon Refinery and the Alberta Ironworkers Apprenticeship and Training Plan (Local 720). Eleven women, in the front row of this photo, were hired and registered as apprentices as soon as they finished the program. In the back row are representatives from NWR including Ian MacGregor, president and chairman, NW Refining, and representatives from the Ironworkers local 720. JudyLynn Archer, president and CEO, WBF, is in the middle of back row. Next to Archer is Margaret McCuaig-Boyd, Alberta’s Minister of Energy.
Photo: Submitted Photo"
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