Sub-series SS6 - Skills Work! Young Women's Conference

Delivery Agent and Target audience / Reach: Skills Canada Sask / SaskWITT/SIAST
Partners & Supporters: Provincial School Boards and Schools; SaskPower; SK Homebuilder’s Associations; Assorted Building Trades Unions; Employers; Suppliers of Building Products and Safety Equipment

In 1997, WITT NN partnered with Skills Canada to host an interactive display at one of the first Canadian competitions held in Red Deer Alberta. Because of our proximity to Red Deer and because SaskWITT was such an active WITT organization, they sent two of our established members to coordinate the event. Armed with a van full of tools and materials, they managed to involve passersby in the display to assemble and test-drive a go cart in the course of one day.

Over the next 2 years, Saskatchewan mobilized partnerships and began a Skills Canada chapter of their own. Overend sat on the original steering committee in Regina and this led to delivery of annual Young Women’s conferences for grades 11 and 12 girls in conjunction with Saskatchewan’s annual competitions.

For approximately the next 15 years, they delivered conferences in Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, and Regina, including a National conference in Saskatoon in 2009. They were able to reach high school girls from all across the province on an occasional basis. They typically prepared for up to 100 girls but, with conferences held in March, often fell short because of Saskatchewan weather.

In 2009, Overend applied for SaskWITT funding to produce a Poster Series *Not Your Average Girl, Give Skilled Trades a Whirl!” They hired a photo-journalist/member, Barb Parchman to interview and photograph 15 of our members who worked or trained in various TTO occupations around the Province. These posters were set up on easels for the National Young Women’s Conference and used at subsequent conferences as well as other career events throughout the years.

The event built strong partnerships in each community and often led to support with other initiatives. They were able to train and groom tradeswomen/technicians and technologists from all over the province to work in career exploration initiatives for girls and women into TTO. Notably, we built substantial relationships with the Saskatoon and Regina area Homebuilders Associations, Building Trades Unions, and Northern partnerships that soon led us to a travelling outreach initiative – Northern Tours.

In 2003, Overend applied for funding from the Women’s Program, Status of Women Canada to support SaskWITT initiative to hold focus group meetings with the participants in the annual conference in Regina. Subsequently, she compiled a report *“Recommendations for Systemic Changes in Programming for Young Women into Skilled Trades”. This contributed to a foundation to enhance future deliveries across Canada, not only for Young Women’s conferences and increase participation of young women in the competitions but also for career exploration in high schools.