The Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie is looking to give 150 future welders a head start.
Through the Skills2Advance training arm, they are working with CWB Welding Foundation to provide training in four area colleges through two week long classes beginning in June.
Participants will be recruited from Brantford, Six Nations, New Credit and Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk counties but nearby residents outside of this area can also sign up.
Two-thirds of participants are expected to be women, a group that is underrepresented in the skilled trades.
Only 10 per cent of welders in Grand Erie are female.
People can find more information about the program by visiting www.skills2advance.com/welding
The Women of Steel and Mind Over Metal curriculum will be delivered by instructors from Six Nations
Polytechnic, Conestoga College, and Fanshawe College – Simcoe campus, using their welding shops.
Mohawk College will provide training at its mobile classroom, which houses welding simulators in a truck
trailer.
The one-year project is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development.
It will include 30 hours of hands-on training, with the opportunity to obtain a CWB welding certification.
Another 30 hours will focus on training in first aid, CPR, forklift and working at heights, and soft skills, such
as problem-solving and workplace communications.
Program participants will receive a free welding toolkit, which includes a welding helmet, and will be eligible
to receive additional support to help cover other expenses, such as work boots.
When they graduate, participants will be assisted by local employment service agencies who will work with
local businesses to offer on-the-job placements, which could lead to permanent positions.
The average salary for welders in the Grand Erie area is about $44,000 a year, but some positions pay more than $60,000, according to the planning board, which tracks wages of postings that appear on its Grand Erie job board.