Training programs in Cambridge and Guelph will get a $1.88 million boost from the provincial government over the next three years to empower low-income and abused women while tapping into an underutilized skilled trades workforce.
Charmaine Williams, the province's associate minister of women’s social and economic opportunity was at Conestoga College's skilled trades campus in Cambridge on Wednesday to make the announcement and said the investment through the Women’s Economic Security Program will support two employment training programs for low-income women.
It will also help women become more financially independent and escape potentially abusive relationships, she said.
"Affordability and making sure women are financially independent is so important, because when women are financially independent they are safer and that's why it is imperative that we create persistent opportunities for women to enter into any sector that they want to get into," said Williams.
The minister said escaping abusive relationships is made more challenging for women who are being controlled financially.
The goal of the training programs is to give some financial power back to women and allow them to make their own decisions to become independent.
The investment will provide up to $1,061,000 to support the Conestoga College Institute of Technology’s carpentry pre-apprenticeship training program for women in Cambridge and up to $821,000 for 10 Carden Shared Space’s Opening Opportunities entrepreneurship training program for women in Guelph.
According to Suzanne Moyer, dean of the School of Trades & Apprenticeship, said the funding will support 24 spaces a year at the college for women who are looking at getting into the trades.
Moyer noted the province has planned to build 1.5 million homes by 2031 and invest over $185 million in infrastructure projects. Getting women into the skilled trades workforce will help meet those ambitious goals, she said.
"We recognize that representation matters and by actively promoting these programs, we can inspire a new generation of women to join the ranks of skilled trained people and help to break down stereotypes and redefine what it means to work in these fields," said Moyer.
Tait Wilman, a recent graduate from Conestoga College's carpentry program, is returning to teach the next generation of women at the college about the trades and the success they can find.
Wilman heard about the Women in Skilled Trades (WIST) program in a radio ad and quickly sought more information on how she could get involved. She was given an interview the next day and soon found herself in the woodshop campus in Waterloo.
"I can genuinely say that my time at the WIST program was transformative and shaped the trajectory of my life; the instructors, technicians and the incredible group of women that were part of my group created an environment in which we all supported and encouraged each other. The experience deeply moved me," said an emotional Wilman.
She remembered it being a safe space, without judgment or preconceived notions, about her ability based on her gender.
Wilman is now a red-seal carpenter working mainly in interior and exterior renovations.
Conestoga has been trying for decades to get more women into the skilled trades and has had success with their Jill of All Trades event, which brings high school students to the campus to show them what a career in the trades can look like. The Jill of All Trades program is now in 14 institutions across North America.
“I’m proud of our government’s continued support for local, community-based training programs that help women across the province reach their full potential and achieve the career success they deserve," said Williams. "When women succeed so does Ontario."
