Good afternoon.
This is how the ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport of Quebec defines a non-traditional curriculum: “A curriculum is considered to be non-traditional when the corresponding professions under the Code national des professions (CNP) indicate a rate of female participation of under 33 1/3 %.” The Commission scolaire de Laval currently offers 21 professional training programs in non-traditional trades.
The reasons for which women choose to enter trades which are traditionally male-dominated are not different from those of men. Many women choose to enter a trade because they prefer manual work, they wish to engage in physical work, they wish to create things with their hands, and they need a job in which they can move around. They are looking for concrete rather than theoretical work and they feel at ease working in a male environment. Other reasons why girls and women choose to enter a trade are relatively short training periods, high salaries and good job prospects.
When it realized that some of its female students wished to enter non-traditional areas of work, the Commission scolaire de Laval undertook several initiatives to encourage women to train in non-traditional trades, to support them in their training, and to help them enter the workforce.
We will begin by telling you about how we help women validate their choice of a non-traditional career and the training that goes with it. We will then tell you about the different measures we have taken to make room for women in non-traditional trades, and we will conclude by explaining the importance of partnerships in developing a winning strategy to help women enter trades and thrive in them.
We have several activities to validate the training given to women, and there will be more.
Information and one-day placement. Although there is a high demand for some training programs, recruitment remains a challenge. Therefore, each school year, staff and teachers from vocational training centres set up information booths in schools and give talks to students. Of course, both boys and girls are invited to meet with the professionals who are there to answer their questions. If they show clear interest in a trade, the young people are invited to the vocational training centres to be “one-day students”. They interact with the teachers and regular students in the classrooms and workshops. This allows them to try their hand at a trade and talk to people firsthand. It gives them a better idea of what they would like to do professionally and it validates their interest.
Femmes et métiers gagnants: orientation and exploration. Several times a year, groups of about 15 women visit our vocational training centres. These women are participating in the “Femmes et métiers gagnants“ program, which is subsidized by the Laurentians branch of Emploi-Québec. For seven weeks, the women take stock of their personal and professional situations and explore job opportunities and training in male-dominated professions. Each group is invited to our centres to explore, learn about and become familiar with our programs. They visit every department and talk to teachers about the reality and expectations of the trade they have chosen. Those who are interested can register for a one-day placement. Last year, two such participants graduated from the Centre de formation Le Chantier, one of them in brick-laying and masonry, the other in glass assembly and installation. This year, following their participation in the “Femmes et métiers gagnants” program, two women registered for the carpentry and woodworking program at the Centre de formation Le Chantier.
“Chapeau, les filles!“ is a competition in Quebec which recognizes women who have chosen to enter non-traditional fields of work.
For 14 years, the ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport and its partners have held the “Chapeau, les filles!” contest, which seeks to make women aware of the many career opportunities available to them and which support women who are training in male-dominated professions until they graduate.
The objectives are: to help women who have chosen to work in a non-traditional field to feel good about their choice; to reward their efforts; to help students overcome problems related to the fact that they are in a male-dominated environment; to help women make unconventional career choices by providing successful female role models.
To enter this contest, the young women have to write a letter describing their background, their commitment to working in a non-traditional trade, their aptitudes and what they intend to do to stay in the field. There are two tiers to the contest: the regional tier, with prizes of between $500 and $1,000, and the national tier, with prizes of between $2,000 and $5,000.
To attract participants, it is important that the centres advertise the contest, recruit participants and support them through each stage of the contest. Last year, four students from the Commission scolaire de Laval won regional awards, and one of them received a national award.
In order to continue to encourage women to enter non-traditional fields of work, the Commission scolaire de Laval will implement three activities in 2009-2010. The first is a “hands on“ workshop, which will be given by the Centre de formation Le Chantier. It will be called “Madame bricole tout”. The purpose of the workshop is to help women become more independent by letting them try manual skills. During the workshops, the women will learn the basics, such as how to paint a wall, how to handle screws, nails, drills, how to put up shelves and so on. The workshop is taught by the female teachers and students at the Centre de formation Le Chantier.
Another project, called “Parcours extrême”, consists of a professional exploration kit developed by the people at Femmes et production industrielle. It is aimed at students in the grade 9 and teaches them about non-traditional trades. This year, workshops will be given in high school classes in the Commission scolaire de Laval in collaboration with the Table de concertation lavalloise pour l'emploi des femmes dans les emplois non traditonnels, the Commission scolaire de Laval and the ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport. This partnership is not yet in place.
The “Défi touche à tout“ is an hands-on laboratory in a vocational training centre. This is a pilot project that allows students to “find their way”. The objective of this project is to help girls and boys become interested in occupations taught at the vocational training centre. This happens in a mini-laboratory setting. Learning activities are offered to students in grade 9. The activities help students find out what best suits them and which career choice is most appropriate for them. The students also receive information about the academic aspects and the nature of the course.
The three “Place aux femmes” initiatives were implemented to help women complete their courses and find a job after graduation. The first initiative helps women stick with their training. It has been available since January 2007 to any woman who is registered in a program or who has graduated from a non-traditional trade course with the Commission scolaire de Laval. Its aim is to support these women, to help them network and share their experiences. A facilitator, along with a female tradesperson, leads the activity. Telephone support and sharing opportunities are also available.
In 2007-2008, two groups were created and subsidized by Service Canada and the ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport.
One group was made up of women graduates in various non-traditional occupations, while the other was made up of women enrolled in the fire safety intervention program. Following this success and based on confirmed needs, the Commission scolaire de Laval continued to offer this program with the financial participation of the Commission de la construction du Québec. Since the spring of 2008, three groups have been created.
The second measure allows access to professional resources. Two career counsellors are available for all of the professional training programs at the Commission scolaire de Laval. Also, in order to ensure that girls remain in training courses, one of our facilities, the Le Chantier Training Centre, has a professional training counsellor available to meet with all female students, starting in their first week of classes. This resource is also available, as needed, throughout the training of females students. Bianka is a counsellor herself and she looks after the girls attending the Centre de formation Le Chantier.
The third measure is an awareness activity for teachers, and all staff and students at the Centre de formation Le Chantier. It takes the form of a play that is intended to educate the public about the role of women in non-traditional occupations.
A few words about partnerships. Ensuring the retention, recruitment and integration of women in non-traditional occupations requires cooperation with various partners. Here are a few examples of projects that bring together various stakeholders for the same cause. First, an innovative project to create and provide promotional, awareness and intervention tools designed to facilitate better access by women to non-traditional occupations and fields, particularly in the construction industry. It allows us to determine the profile of the women registered and the main difficulties they experience throughout their training.