Alberta is addressing the growing demand for skilled tradespeople in the province with a $1.5 million investment in Indigenous-led trades training. Over the next three years, the funding will support Trade Winds to Success, a non-profit organization that prepares Indigenous students for rewarding careers in residential construction and other skilled trades.
“Trade Winds to Success has an impressive history of helping Indigenous students to discover new career opportunities in the skilled trades, overcome barriers to education and thrive in the workplace. Supporting Trade Winds is a win-win for Indigenous workers and Alberta’s economy,” said Minister of Advanced Education Rajan Sawhney.
Through partnerships with Alberta’s government, Union Training Trusts, employers, and the Indigenous community, Trade Winds to Success has helped to increase the number of Indigenous people training and working in the skilled trades, with more than 3,000 individuals supported since 2005.
This new funding will support Trade Winds to Success’s operations so they can deliver valuable programming, including their Residential Construction Program. Students in this program take foundational courses for six weeks, followed by 12 weeks of hands-on training where they learn techniques to construct eco-smart small homes for Indigenous community members. Upon completing the program, students receive 330 hours towards their first year in Alberta’s carpenter apprenticeship education program.
The Residential Construction Program is expected to enrol 156 participants over three years. This investment will help address labour needs in the province, while empowering Indigenous students to find rewarding careers as they help build their communities and the economy. Alberta’s government continues to support Indigenous Peoples and all Albertans in meeting the economic needs of today and tomorrow.
Linda Domak, president of Trade Winds’ board of directors, emphasized the importance of operational funding in enabling the organization to address core needs and build future capacity. “This is reconciliation in action,” she said, expressing gratitude to Alberta’s government for its support.
