Women in Skilled Trades
The Women in Skilled Trades (WIST) program offered by Skills for Change and funded in part by Employment and Social Development Canada, aims to empower and support women apprentices in Red Seal trades. Our mission is to provide education, leadership development, and networking opportunities, particularly for newcomer and racialized women, in a variety of skilled trades (including and not limited to: welding, carpentry, and horticulture). Collaborating with partners across Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia, we offer specialized training, mentorship and mental health support to create an informed and holistic pathways to skilled trades employment. Our program objectives are to:
Increase the presence of women in Red Seal trades,
Enhance technical skills and confidence,
Foster leadership development,
Provide valuable networking opportunities.
Upcoming Cohort: October 2, 2024
Additional Program Details:
Virtual
Training twice a week - Wed 6:00PM -8:30PM and Sat 10:30AM-1:00AM
Events
We are proud to present a variety of workshops, trade expos, and networking events throughout Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia from 2024 - 2026. We will be working with national and local partners to provide regionally specific event programming in hopes to build the next generation of leaders in Skilled Trades. These events will emphasize inclusive hiring practices for employers, explore research trades, and provide space for women within the early years of their careers (0-5) to network and understand how to advance their goals in this ever changing industry.
We will be delivering two large scale events in selected provinces each year with the cumulative hope of creating a network of changemakers in the sector. These events will be co-produced with partners with the hope of reaching over 2000 women in the three years of this Women in Skilled Trades Project.
Partnerships
Are you a visionary whose story needs to be told? Are you a company or organization that shares our values and mission and are hoping to collaborate?
Skills for Change is looking to build multi-year partnerships with organizations who have an interest in guiding the conversation of Women in Skilled Trades. We are looking for partners in Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, and Nova Scotia.
We’d love to connect with you, if you have strengths in:
Research
Inclusive Hiring Practices
Employer Relations
Events
Leadership Development
Contact Us (partnerships@skillsforchange.org)
Leadership Academy
The WIST Leadership Academy will support newcomer and racialized women facing multiple barriers and who are emerging apprentices and interested in a career in the skilled trades to succeed in Red Seal trades.
We will provide participants across the country with specialized leadership training, networking, mentorship, and mental health support to build a holistic pathway to employment in the skilled trades. The objectives of the leadership academy include providing educational training, leadership development, and networking opportunities to increase retention rates of women apprentices.
This program will be launched in February 2024 and run until March 2026.
We are looking to accept 200 women in four cohorts from across the country.
The initiative will be hybrid with opportunities for on-site events.
Each cohort will run for 12 weeks.
Women in Skilled Trades (WiST) Survey
Our in-house research team has designed a national survey to capture the perspectives, perceptions, and experiences of both skilled trades employers and women (both currently in and not yet in the trades). This survey also gathers some high-level information on the role of skilled trades employers, and interests of women, in advancing climate activism and sustainability. Our perception is that as Canada’s green economy demands workers with knowledge and skills in climate change and environmental sustainability, these insights will be valuable to the next iteration of WiST.
This survey is available in both English and French. At the very beginning of the survey, it will branch out into 2 categories, one being for women interested to pursue a career in the skilled trades, or already involved in the skilled trades, and the other being employer of skilled trades. The survey will ask women questions re: career interests, practical and/or perceived barriers to pursuing a career in the skilled trades, existing or desirable career advancement opportunities, and interests and experience with green initiatives and sustainability practices. The survey will ask skilled trades employers re: hiring and retention practices, career advancement and networking opportunities, and of course, green economy and sustainability.
The data from this survey are crucial for us. Key findings and analysis from this survey data will inform an extensive collection of knowledge products, including province-based examinations of the skilled trades sector in the 5 provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Quebec. This allows for comparisons across geographic contexts and supports further program and policy development at both the provincial and national levels. Conference presentations, scholarly publications, and shareable infographics ensure wide distribution of learnings to help the sector design strong training programs, influence public policy, and advance both environmental sustainability and gender equity.
Available in English and French
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