Library and Academic Success: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion &amp; Belonging: Skilled Trades

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Subjects: Community Safety, Computer Studies, Copyright, Design & Visual Arts, Engineering & Environmental Technolgies, Health & Wellness, Interdisciplinary, Nursing, Skilled Trades

Key EDI & B Concepts in Skilled Trades

This section of Key Concepts provides focused content from industry, government and economy experts on the barriers and challenges women, visible minorities and immigrants face as they try to access apprenticeship education and enter the workforce

Advancing Gender Diversity in Canada's Electricity Sector: A Compendium of Success Stories
This compilation of success stories illustrates the range of initiatives that companies across the electricity sector who’ve signed on to the Leadership Accord on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (previously “Leadership Accord on Gender Diversity”) have been working on.
Advancing Women in Skilled Trades: Best Practices Guidance Document
The report, “Advancing Women in Skilled Trades: Best Practices Guidance Document”, which accompanies the Canadian Electrical Association's 2020 Commitment to Advancing Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the electricity sector, provides baseline recommendations for members as they journey towards gender diversity and inclusion in skilled trades staff.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policies in Canadian Small-toMedium Sized Enterprises within Science, Tech, Engineering and Skilled Trades A Literature Scan for the In Good Company Collaborative (University of Guelph)
This literature review was prepared for the In Good Company Collaborative to discuss the situation of women in small to medium enterprises in Canada. More specifically, the review explores the current trends, policies, practices, challenges, and barriers faced by women in the areas of technology and engineering, skilled trades, and transportation. The literature scan also offers recommendations to the In Good Company for future research, collaborative efforts, and policy planning.
Educational pathways of individuals who discontinue their apprenticeship programs (Statistics Canada)
This research paper entitled "Educational pathways for those who discontinue their apprenticeship programs" looks at those apprentices who registered between 2008 and 2010 and discontinued their programs within six years of registration.
World Economic Forum
How can Canada encourage more female workers to join the construction trade? The World Economic Forum's article describes the current shortage of skilled trades workers in Canada and the challenges that women have encountered when trying to enter this workforce such as sexism and lack of opportunity.

Creating Diversity and Career Opportunites in the Skilled Trades: Case Studies of Organizations Assisting Visible Minority/Racialized Groups Seeking a Career in the Skilled Trades
This report, produced under the guidance of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum-Forum Canadien sur l’apprentissage (CAF-FCA), focuses on eight programs that connect visible minority/ racialized groups with employers in the skilled trades.1 Learning about these programs is important if apprenticeship stakeholders want to identify ways to replicate success and to reduce barriers.
Labour Market Outcomes of Journeypersons Designated as Visible Minorities (Education, Learning and Training Research Paper Series) by Statistics Canada
Using data from Statistics Canada’s Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform (ELMLP), this study examines populations designated as visible minorities in the skilled trades. The labour market outcomes, one year after certification, of journeypersons designated as visible minorities, who responded to the 2016 Census of Population and received certificates in the skilled trades between 2008 and 2017, were compared with the
outcomes of journeypersons who are not visible minorities.

Supporting an Accessible and Inclusive Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship System in Ontario
The Apprenticeship Youth Advisors, part-time special advisors to the Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD), consulted with stakeholders and provided advice and recommendations to the Minister on increasing the engagement of young people in the skilled trades and addressing the stigma associated with pursuing a career in the skilled trades. This report summarizes their engagement activities, results and recommendations.
Retooling for a Prosperous Ontario: A Global Perspective On Skilled Trades (The Ontario Chamber of Commerce)
This report is an environmental scan of “best practices” from other jurisdictions in Canada and around the world relating to apprenticeship training. The jurisdictions selected in this report represent sources of ideas and strategies that, given a thorough analysis and evaluation, could be successfully applied in Ontario.
Powering Up: Supporting Canada's Skilled Trades for a Post-Pandemic Economy (RBC Thought Leadership Series)
This RBC report was developed within the Humans Wanted research program. It is informed by a series of roundtables and interviews with skilled trades workers, employers, educators, and industry leaders be-ginning in early 2020. It leverages findings from an analysis of specific trades using the occupational database O*NET and conversations with various stakeholders, as well as Statistics Canada products.

Suggested Search Strategies

When searching for information, the most discipline-specific content in the skilled trades is emerging from national or provincial trades and apprenticeship organizations such as the Canadian Construction Association and the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum. These sources discuss industry hiring, labour market trends, career and employment development and apprenticeship opportunities.

The library provides resources on this topic through newspapers, labour market reports and magazine articles. To seek further information, there are multiple search terms which describe the skilled trades:

Women in the skilled trades
Apprenticeship programs/training
Journeypersons (male & female) and/or visible minority journeypersons
Labour market outcomes
Red seal trades
Skills shortage

Recommended Associations

These key associations, unions and employers provide industry specific information on the barriers and experiences of people seeking apprenticeship and employment in the skilled trades in Canada. They are the first stop to find information on the current landscape of equity, diversity and inclusion in the multiple occupations which comprise the skilled trades.

BuildForce Canada
Buildforce Canada assists the construction industry with its management of workforce requirements by providing reliable labour market information, tools and resources.
Canada's Building Trades Unions
Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU) are the national voice of over half a million Canadian construction workers—members of 14 international unions who work in more than 60 different trades and occupations, and generate six percent of this country’s GDP.
Canadian Apprenticeship Forum
CAF-FCA is a non-profit organization that connects Canada’s apprenticeship community. Participants work collaboratively to support vibrant and innovative apprenticeship systems and policies with a view to developing a highly skilled, inclusive and mobile skilled trades workforce. Employers, unions, equity-seeking groups, educational institutions and the jurisdictions support CAF-FCA operations through membership.
Canadian Construction Association
The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) is the national association representing contractors (general, trade, civil) and manufacturers, service providers and suppliers in Canada. Backed by 20,000 member firms drawn from 63 local and provincial integrated partner associations, CCA gives voice to the public policy, legal and standards development goals of contractors, suppliers and allied business professionals working in, or with, Canada’s institutional, commercial and industrial (ICI) construction industry.
Canadian Electricity Association
Founded in 1891, The Canadian Electricity Association is the national forum and voice of the evolving electricity business in Canada. The Association contributes to the regional, national, and international success of its members.
Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA)
The CHBA is "the voice of Canada's residential construction industry." Representing one of the largest industry sectors in Canada, their membership is made up of some 9,000 companies – including home builders, renovators, land developers, trade contractors, product and material manufacturers, building product suppliers, lending institutions, insurance providers, and service professionals.
Government of Ontario, Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development
The Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development works to advance safe, fair and harmonious workplace practices that are essential to the social and economic well-being of the people of Ontario. The ministry's key areas of responsibility include occupational health and safety, employment rights and responsibilities, and labour relations. Its mandate is to set, communicate and enforce workplace standards while encouraging greater workplace self-reliance.
Hydro One
Hydro One is Ontario’s largest electricity transmission and distribution service provider. They distribute electricity across Ontario to nearly 1.4 million predominantly rural customers, or approximately 26% of the total number of customers in Ontario.
Ontario Building & Construction Tradeswomen
The Ontario Building & Construction Tradeswomen are a committee of tradeswomen helping women and underrepresented gender identities fill that gap by providing training, networking and mentorship opportunities in the skilled trades.
Ontario Power Generation
Ontario Power Generation Inc. is a Crown corporation responsible for approximately half of the electricity generation in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is wholly owned by the Government of Ontario. Sources of electricity include nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, gas and biomass.
Provincial Building & Trades Council of Ontario
The Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario (PBCTCO) was established in 1957 to be the collective voice of construction workers at the provincial level. The Council is chartered under the American Federation of Labour – Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), bringing together 12 affiliated construction craft unions with a total province-wide membership of 150,000 workers. The Council’s mission is to give construction workers a voice in the workplace, to help ensure that workers are well-trained to meet industry needs, and to promote healthy and safe working conditions with fair wages, pensions, and benefits.
Skills Ontario
Skills Ontario is building Ontario’s skilled trades and technologies workforce. They enable and empower all youth to consider a career in the skilled trades and technologies. Engagement with students, teachers, parents, guardians, volunteers, and guest speakers ensure their programs connect education, experience, and employment. They deliver in-school presentations across Ontario, host Canada’s largest skills competition, run summer camps for skills development and connect students to employers. They are focused on growth sectors such as construction and infrastructure, technology innovation, and hospitality services.