Government and industry support drive Women Building Futures' expansion in Saskatchewan

Women Building Futures is a non-profit that focuses on helping women to begin their careers in the trades. Their recent expansion includes two programs within Saskatchewan.  

“We’re focused on supporting unemployed and underemployed women, and you know utilizing the trades as a really great vehicle for us to prepare them to work in and ultimately help solve economic insecurity for the going forward, "said Carol Moen president and CEO of Women Building Futures. 

She noted that their partnership with BHP is what initially brought them into the province.  

“When we entered into that partnership with BHP. We did that knowing that we wanted to stay in Saskatchewan and that was our intention. So, we’ve been working hard at building an early relationship with the government of Saskatchewan similar to the one we’ve built over many, many years in the province of Alberta,” said Moen.  

Moen said that there has been a lot of great synergy between WBF and the provincial government. She added that diversifying the workforce and minimizing the critical resource gaps is something that all parties have in common. 

“We see lots of strength as we navigate to establish a sustainable presence in both of those provinces, and we’re really excited about that.”  

The Journey to Trades pilot was recently made available in the greater Regina region and is currently open for applications. Moen explained that the program was made possible through partnerships. The Government of Saskatchewan, Pembina TC Energy and Enbridge have joined forces to fund that program.

“Partnerships have been the cornerstone of our model for years and years. Where we bring the government and the private sector together with us to help solve the unemployment and underemployment of women,” said Moen. “Then many of those partners are going to be engaging in potential employment coming out of that program as well. So, you know, for me it just reinforces this beautiful partnership.” 

While often seen as a pre-employment program, WBF stays connected to all program graduates as long as the individual wants. Moen said that this includes support when it comes to their career, whether it is a career change, or navigating their trajectory in the workforce.  

She added that while their main goal is to close some critical gaps in skilled trades across the provinces there are some other benefits.  

“It’s just a marvellous thing that the socially motivated work also has some very beautiful bottom line outcomes as well.”