Status of Women committee  I first think it needs to start happening in the grade 4 level. High school is a little late, so start a lot earlier and engage with these young girls to really help them gain the confidence that they will need in order to take part in shop class. Even if we have the shops, girls aren't particularly encouraged.

Status of Women committee  It would be a huge bonus. We're big supporters of that particular program, but there are inconsistencies in terms of eligibility or inclusiveness for women, the aboriginal women that we see. They do need the day care, the transportation, and living costs. Otherwise they won't be able to access that training and therefore employers won't hire them.

Status of Women committee  Oh, gosh. This is a conversation, as we all know, that we've been having for decades and decades. Of course we should have equitable lives and equitable opportunity. We don't have equitable opportunity here in Canada. I don't know what the answer is. I don't know what the solution is.

Status of Women committee  Yes, we certainly did consider it. We wanted 24-hour child care in our building when we built it. Unfortunately, we also had to manage our cashflow. We ended up filling our facility with training and housing and simply didn't have the capacity to put child care in our facility. That said, we chose a facility that was right in between two big organizations that have child care programs.

Status of Women committee  A universal child care program would have our vote absolutely today. Child care is one of the biggest barriers that women face coming into this industry. From the industry's perspective, we are asked every day, “You go away and figure out that child care problem and we'll hire more women.”

Status of Women committee  The financial piece is usually the second or third item on the list when we hear back from our graduates. The first thing they talk about is that they cannot believe the level of confidence that they have where they are now compared to where they were before. These jobs are not rocket science, but building huge projects gives you a sense of confidence that for most women takes a long time to get.

Status of Women committee  Absolutely. Yes, there is. I think it's the pre-apprenticeship where we need to shine the light. There's a lot of money for apprenticeship training. There is no funding for pre-apprenticeship. In getting that awareness out there, getting people, in this case women, trained up to come into an apprenticeship, getting young girls to really understand the opportunity and to consider and start preparing to come into this industry, we could do a lot there.

Status of Women committee  Yes. Our programs are all pre-apprenticeship, so they are, number one...trade jobs are not rocket science. The actual determining factor for a woman to be successful in the trades is to be able to thrive in a predominantly male industry. There's workplace culture, being able to understand what that looks like, how it is today, the realities of it.

Status of Women committee  Awareness is still very low. I would say among Canadian women that this industry provides incredible opportunity for them and how they can get into the industry. Awareness is still something that we need to do and we'll need to do for a long time yet. For aboriginal women, about 30% of our student population is aboriginal women.

Status of Women committee  First, with regard to the increase in income, for women who are coming into our programs and heading into an apprenticeship, into a trade, the average increase is 127% on day of hire. For women who are coming into our programs and going into some of the other areas of construction, such as heavy equipment operating, that average income increase is 169% on day of hire.

Status of Women committee  So why train women...? I'm sorry.

Status of Women committee  I would say two-thirds.

Status of Women committee  The first step in the program consists of awareness, helping women understand what these opportunities are and what realities come along with these opportunities. This is not for every man or woman. The second step is to help women make a well-informed decision before coming into this industry.

Status of Women committee  I think the solution is for the federal and provincial governments to work collaboratively. Right now what we're seeing is a tremendous gap, and that's where these women fall into the gap. This issue is across Canada. Underemployed women fall between the funding cracks. They're not quite at a level of poverty where the welfare or the social assistance programs can pick them up, and they just don't quite fit into the government funding box very well.

Status of Women committee  The Canada job grant. The Canada job grant has no living costs attached to it. In our case, for example, when we're training we can work with employers. Employers are absolutely willing and ready to step up and contribute to the training costs of individuals. They will not pay the living costs for individuals.