When asked about the physical suitability for
women on heavy construction worksites, Archer
says that hasn’t been an issue.
“On a construction site, most men aren’t going to
lift something really heavy by themselves,” she said.
“They’re going to get a crane or hoist or ask for a
hand. That happens with women in the same way.
The trick is that we’re helping each other equitably
to get work done.”
Women up to the job
North West Redwater (NWR) Partnership labour
relations manager, Mike Yorke, has worked with a
number WBF graduates for years, most recently in
his work at the NWR Sturgeon Refinery in Alberta. He
says he hires them at every opportunity.
“I’ve had a lot of success with the WBF graduates over the
years…when we first started hiring them, the feedback from su-pervision
was overwhelmingly positive. Primarily the grads that
we’ve hired in the last year have been apprentice ironworkers, ap-prentice
Call: 306-550-8165
Email: nathan.duncan@sitech-wc.ca
www.sitech-wc.ca
scaffolders and apprentice carpenters,” he said.
He admits that the initial reaction from contractors is often
hesitation.
“Construction managers are not big risk takers and there was a
bit of reluctance with the first group of ironworkers we brought on-site
back in May. Eight months later, when we needed to bring in
a group of scaffolders, the two primary contractors specifically re-quested
the WBF graduates. We were like, ‘We’ll take them all.’”
STAFFING
How will WBF and BuildForce Canada
attract women to the workforce?
The partnership between BuildForce Canada and WBF aims to cre-ate
more of these watershed moments across the industry and the
country. While a full business plan will be rolled out in 2017, they’re
aiming to accomplish a number of goals, including:
• Delivering a national awareness campaign that positions
careers in construction and maintenance as a first-choice
career and lifestyle option for women, including
targeted campaigns focusing on Indigenous women
• Developing and providing resources to help women explore the
opportunities the world of trades offers, assess their interest,
readiness and commitment to pursue this career path
saskheavy.ca | Quarter 2 2017 | Think BIG 41
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