TRAINING: CAF seeks national strategy for women in trades

OTTAWA – The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum is assembling a task force from among its members to develop a national strategy for women in trades. The action comes after extensive consultations with stakeholders over the last two years. The CAF hosted the first ever national conference dedicated to female participation in the skilled trades last year, and the second was held this year in Vancouver. More than 600 delegates sought answers about how to remove the barriers women encounter when they pursue a career in a skilled trade. “Our country is going to need thousands of new trades professionals in the next five years, and the creation of a national strategy to help attract more women to the trades will be critical to meeting labour market and economic needs,” said Shelley Gray, CEO of B.C.’s Industry Training Authority and task force participant. The CAF task force will include apprentices, tradeswomen, representatives from women’s organization, labour groups, employees, educators and jurisdictional authorities. Said France Daviault, executive director of CAF, “The entire skilled trades community needs to work together and set targets for increasing female participation – what gets measured gets done.” The task force will hold its first meeting on Sept. 9, 2019, in Calgary. The CAF is the only organization that supports apprenticeship stakeholders. Learn more at www.CAF-FCA.org.