Confederation College is expanding its Women in Trades program across northwestern Ontario

Confederation College is launching a Women in Trades program in Marathon, Ont., this fall.

The pre-apprenticeship program – set to launch on Sept. 16 at its Northshore Campus – is being funded through Ontario's Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development to meet the needs of the region in supporting heavy duty equipment technicians.

The program is already being delivered in Thunder Bay and will also be delivered at the Rainy River District Campus in Fort Frances this coming September.

Nick Iachetta, the associate dean of workforce development at Confederation College, said the college realized that not only is there a labour gap in the trades in general, but women are underrepresented in all the trades.

"We really wanted to focus this one on women; number one because there's a demographic that could help meet the needs in the region, and number two since they are underrepresented, we wanted to give them fair and equitable opportunities to be able to get into the trades," said Iachetta.

Spots still available 

In total, the college proposed to train 45 women throughout northwestern Ontario – 12 have started in Thunder Bay but they look to fill 15 more spots in Marathon and Fort Frances.

These opportunities, Iachetta added, will also aid smaller communities more vulnerable to the trade shortage.

However, he said the biggest challenge for them is "always securing the apprenticeships."

As part of the program, students are offered math upgrading, safety training, Level 1 Heavy Duty Equipment Technician training, welding, and employment preparation.

Students are also expected to take on an eight week job placement assigned by the college after completing the program.

Iachetta said he has reached out to employers who wrote letters of support for their proposal and many have started offering paid placements and apprenticeship opportunities for women in Thunder Bay.

"There's multiple contractors offering one or more apprenticeships," said Iachetta. "So it's a great opportunity for someone who wants to get into the field and then try it out. So, we're happy to be providing this opportunity."

The future of the trades

Iachetta said the college has also started reaching out to communities, the ministry and individuals who are looking for trade opportunities to see how they can "link everything together and keep providing these opportunities in the region."

For example, strategic planning has started already over the next three to five years in the east to meet these goals and reduce competition between potential employers.

He added the other key thing is recognizing their Indigenous partners all across the region.

"[We're] reaching out to them, making sure that there's fair opportunity and that there's lead opportunities for them to be involved in what we're doing and working collaboratively with them as well," said Iachetta.

But, Iachetta said, all in all, they're hoping people will start to see in the next few years that they want to support the region and the smaller communities.

"Being a hub in Thunder Bay and with the number of people that we have and international students that we have at the college there's a great base here," said Iachetta. "But really in these smaller communities, when we're talking about businesses and employers, supporting them is huge and it's huge just to be able to keep those communities thriving."