The YWCA Toronto is giving women a chance to join a sector in which they have traditionally been underrepresented thanks to a free new training course.
Funded by the Government of Ontario, the Pre-Apprenticeship Carpentry Training Program for Women will give 20 women a chance to learn the skills necessary to become a carpentry apprentice, continuing the organization's long-standing tradition of introducing women to careers typically dominated by men.Maisie Raymond Brown, manager of the YWCA Toronto's pre-apprenticeship training program, said the program came about after George Brown put out a request for proposal for a partner in providing a new educational experience."We really want to try to engage women in that sector," she said. "When the call for proposals went out to work with George Brown College, we jumped at it."In addition to learning basic carpentry skills, equivalent to a Level 1 certificate, participants will also receive academic upgrading in job searching and communications skills, computer training and skills related to the work they will be doing."They'll be learning things like contextualized math that will help them in this field and elsewhere," Raymond Brown said.The academic training will take place at George Brown's St. James Campus, with the carpentry training taking place at the school's Casa Loma campus. Following the training, participants will be placed into eight-week paid positions."We've got commitments from some employers and we're always looking for more," Raymond Brown said.The 32-week YWCA Toronto Pre-Apprenticeship Carpentry Training Program for Women will begin on Monday, March 22. For more information, call 416-964-3883.