With $7M in new funding, these organizations want to get more women into the trades

Bobbi Day says when she started her career as a CNC machinist, she was the only woman working on her shop floor. 

Now, she's an ambassador of sorts for Build a Dream, a Windsor, Ont.-based organization that helps get more women into the trades and STEM jobs. 

"I entered my career to prove that I can succeed in this just like anyone else. And I had to prove myself for quite some time, which I did expeditiously," Day said.

"My goal and Build a Dream's goal is to encourage women to enter the trades, where we also belong and change the atmosphere of the male dominated fields to be more positive, diverse and most importantly, a respectful atmosphere."

Now, Build a Dream and Women's Enterprise Skills Training (WEST) of Windsor Inc. will receive $7.3 million in federal  money to help women and underrepresented groups getting into the trades. 

"The issue is not that women don't want these jobs, [it's] that we've done everything to prevent them from wanting it," said Nour Hachem, founder of Build a Dream and one of Day's mentors. "And then when they do want it, we do. We put up a lot of barriers for them to just keep it."

Hachem said Build a Dream started when she was working at WEST, and had the idea to hold a one-off event to educate more young girls and their parents on the possibility of a career in the skilled trades. Now, the organization is celebrating its 10th anniversary. 

"You are helping us transform the lives of not only hundreds but thousands," Hachem said. "In the last 10 years the number of women in trades has gone up two per cent. I believe with this historical funding the government is giving… we're going to bring that percent to 15 per cent in the next 10 years."

The announcement of funding, more than $4 million million for Build a Dream and more than $3 million for WEST, was made by Randy Boissonnault, the federal minister of employment, workforce development and official languages. He was joined by Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk. 

"Seven-hundred thousand skilled tradespeople will retire in the next five years," Boissonnault said. "Wow. That means premium on those who are in the skilled trades starting now and holy smokes, we need more people to fill those jobs."

Build a Dream will use its funding, over two years, to help more than 18,000 apprentices from underrepresented groups improve their leadership and team building skills, as well as upgrade their technical skills, and find program participants work placements in Red Seal trades. 

WEST will receive more than $3 million over four years for their SMART for Women project, helping up to 400 unrepresented apprentices succeed with math refresher courses, enrolment in training courses and wraparound support like childcare and financial support so they can complete their apprenticeships. 

"We say we are 'yes, we can' organization," said Rose Anguiano Hurst, the executive director of WEST. 

"When there's a challenge or a problem, we like to see how can we solve that, how can we build bridges, how can we open doors."

The money is provided through the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy union training and innovation program.