Alberta needs more tradespeople – from all walks of life. In 2015, Construction Labour Relations Alberta (CLRA) alongside the Building Trades of Alberta (BTA) created the Workforce Development Trust (WFDT) when both groups recognized this need to invest in programs that grow, train, and support the province’s construction workforce. Since then, 2 cents for every hour worked by skilled trades construction contractors under CLRA/BTA/GPMC collective agreements have been donated to the Trust, summing over $4 million in contributions to date. Over the past decade, these funds have been donated to various beneficiaries including Helmets to Hardhats Canada, Trade Winds to Success, and Women Building Futures; all organizations that help equip, educate, and assist Albertans entering trades careers.
A significant partner of CLRA’s in this venture is The Educational Partnership Foundation (TEPF), an Alberta-based charity known for exposing hundreds of thousands of students to their literacy and trades careers programming every year. Besides offering bursaries to financially support students in their apprenticeship journeys, they provide two streams of specialized trades career support: one for high school students broadly, and the other for Indigenous Canadians more specifically. Indigenous students entered in these Trades Careers programs receive comprehensive training both on and off reservation land, gaining apprenticeship hours, valuable pre-requisite safety certifications, apprenticeship entrance exam prep, among other services. Bricklaying, carpentry, insulation and industrial mechanical are only a few of the several trades available to explore in this fully-funded program, taught by seasoned journeypersons in collaboration with Indigenous communities.
Bringing trades training to First Nation communities is an important endeavour that CLRA is proud to support through our partnership with TEPF and the WFDT. Achieving journeyperson status in a trade is an excellent accomplishment that not only comes with a lifetime of rewarding employability, but concrete skills, and a sense of personal pride as well. With many students receiving offers of apprenticeships and employment with TEPF’s trades partners post-graduation, these programs are investing in individuals, communities, and the Alberta economy as a whole.
Learn more about how TEPF supports Indigenous individuals to begin their trades journeys here.
