W O R K F O R C E S O L U T I O N S
Photo courtesy of Women Building Futures
challenges these women must face.
For women entering the workforce,
the number one barrier is childcare,
amplified in trades with shiftwork
and longer, non-traditional work
hours. Without strong support systems
behind women, a career in trades after
having children is almost impossible.
WBF works through this issue in the
career readiness assessment that each
woman goes through, making sure
they have a support plan in place if
they already have children.
“Some women need help navigating
challenges in the workplace,” said
Thomson. “So we work closely with
our alumni to help them after they
leave the program.”
For almost two decades, WBF
has been working with industries
and organizations that hire skilled
tradespeople, and in response to what
they have learned, created a series of
workshops – called WORK PROUD
– to help their industry partners not
only hire the right people, but also to
keep them.
“My passion is
helping industries
understand how
they can leverage
social programs
to support both
their organization
and society.”
– Jess Thomson, WBF
32 www.albertaheavy.ca
/www.albertaheavy.ca
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