Toronto, Ontario — Recognizing that it will take all of us to fill the demand for skilled tradespeople in Canada’s automotive industry, General Motors has announced that it will be sponsoring this year’s Young Women’s Initiatives program from Skills Ontario.
The Young Women’s Initiatives program provides direct access to various hands-on skilled trades experiences through events like Young Women’s Career Exploration days where Grade 7-12 girls meet with established industry professionals to discuss the many opportunities open to them in these fields.
With this recent announcement, General Motors becomes the sole OEM sponsor of this Skills Ontario program.
“As a woman in trades, I’m proud to work for GM as we dismantle barriers and perceptions that prevent women from pursuing careers in skilled trades and technology,” said Jennifer Cowdrey, electrical/chassis/ HVAC quality engineer at GM’s CAMI Assembly in Ingersoll, Ont.
“We’re working with Skills Ontario to help empower women to be their own advocates and to pursue what they believe in, working collectively to make work a more inclusive place.”
The program is also partially supported by Aurora, Ont. auto parts manufacturer Magna International.
One Response
I read an article Canada is staring at a potential shortage of more than 60,000 skilled trades workers by 2025, and these are very conservative estimates.
The sad part is i didn’t need to read it to know it’s true, everyone in this industry is living with the effects of the shortage everyday .
I applaud General Motors and everyone involved in the initiative to sponsor this year’s Young Women’s Initiatives program from Skills Ontario .