D1: Building a Human Legacy - the BC Skilled Trades Model  - Sofia Morales
Room: Lombard

The Province of BC has created a unique employer model to grow and diversify its skilled trades workforce. BC Infrastructure Benefits (BCIB) is a provincial Crown corporation and progressive construction employer. BCIB hires women and Indigenous workers first on provincial projects, and its Respectful Onsite Initiative training attracts and retains traditionally underrepresented workers.

On BCIB projects, 12% of skilled workers are women, more than double the BC industry average. Indigenous workers are 14% of BCIB’s workforce, nearly triple the BC average. This model is changing the demographics of BC’s skilled trades workforce and helping create a safe and respectful industry.

D2: Women and Gender Equity Toolkit for Systematic Change - Sara Cummings 
Room: Wellington Ballroom

A DEI workplace is essential for organizations to remain competitive. According to EHRC’s research, women represent only 26% of the electrical workforce, and only 7% are in trades occupation.  Workshop attendees will be introduced to tools developed specifically for the electrical industry, to address the barriers that women are facing entering the electrical sector and remaining employed within it.  Traditionally DEI was approached from a silo viewpoint – “one department, one employer.”, Working with Women and Gender Equity (WAGE) Canada, EHRC has taken a unique approach by collaborating with sector partners developing DEI tools through the lens of systemic change.