We've been working with the educational community, but certainly a lot more work needs to be done there, so that careers in our industry are presented to young women and young men as being viable, excellent careers for them. Less than 3%, I think it is, of our industry is female.
It is slow to change, for sure, but I think for the education community this is the importance of career information and partnerships with industry and various levels of government: to ensure that young people realize a connection between what they're learning in school and all the different career paths it could lead to.
Right now we struggle with the educational community's having a 30-year-old view of what it takes to work in some industries. I'm sure other industries find the same thing.
It is really about educating the education community and having the resources to do it. Being a national sector council, we certainly try to do that working on a national basis, but are trying to work with the school boards. We are working with the Toronto district school board on a pilot project to try to address those various issues: essential skills, and that there are various careers in the industry for young ladies.
The young ladies who do come in, I've heard, do very well. I know from the college instructors that a lot of young women will come in and start as automotive service technicians, but as they learn about the breadth of the industry they gravitate to the parts side of things or to service adviser, where they are using people skills. They are very good at those sorts of occupations. A lot of dealerships are putting women in those service adviser positions now, because it is women who are very often dropping off the family vehicle, so there is a comfort level there.