b'WOMEN IN TRADESBUILDING HOPEBy Sarah B. HoodATa h l t a nin the construction industry, includingof heavy equipment. The Tahltan Nation involving Indigenous women. This pushDevelopmentCorporation(TNDC) p r o g r a m a t t r a c t snot only helps address the skilled labourdeveloped a program designed to train and housing problems, it also bringsheavy equipment operators (HEOs), and I n d i g e n o u sopportunity to trainees, their families,100 per cent of its graduates so far have and their communities. been Indigenous women.w o m e n t o t h e The jobs are there: in April 2024, a reportDesigned specifically for Tahltan people t r a d e s a n d h e l p stitled The Great Rebuild by RBC assis- and Tahltan associates (those who tant chief economist Robert Hogue esti- have married a Tahltan), the program f i x m o r e t h a nmated that Canada could use more thanhas three components: drivers licence half a million new construction workerstraining, development of new HEOs, j u s t a l a b o u rbetween now and 2030. In particular,and further training to support opera-theresroomformoreIndigenoustors in becoming mentors and instruc-s h o r t a g e i nwomen in the field.tors themselves. t h e p r o c e s s Statistics Canada reports that in 2023,Initiatives like this are very important to C anadian leaders are facedIndigenous men and women over theany industry, but especially the Tahltan with two linked problems:age of 15 were almost equally repre- Nation, because it helps lay down a foun-ourinadequatehousingsented in the workforce overall (withdation for resilience and a self-reliant supplyandthecritical383,900 men and 366,500 women).future, says TNDCs vice president of lack of skilled workers inHowever,thebroadjobcategorypeople and corporate culture, Colleen of Trades, Transport and EquipmentCashin. We all know in the industry there the construction trades. These twoOperators and Related Occupations,is a lack of trades and heavy equipment challengessustainoneanother:Except Management employed onlyoperators, and women are able to fill withoutanadequatepoolof13,800 Indigenous women comparedthat gap. By giving them the tools and construction workers, it takes longerto 140,000 Indigenous men. the training, theyre enabled to come in and costs more to build new housingand fill the need.and related infrastructure.One initiative in northwestern B.C. that is helping reverse this trend involvesThe program is attracting women ranging Recently, recruiters have been lookingtraining Indigenous women in a much- in age from 19 to their mid-50s who lack to expand Indigenous participationneeded construction skill: the operationthe heavy equipment skillset but are 42A CCIB PUBLICATIONSummer 2024'