Construction industry thinks outside the box

PRINCE GEORGE – “I was working for my a relative who owned a pipeline company. So I came in and I was able to operate heavy equipment and then I was able to work under welders and pipefitters and crane operators to get different experiences. And from that, I was able to say, ‘Hey, I’d like to become a welder. I really I really enjoy the work.’,” explains Chris Montgomery-Hewett, Acting Dean, the School of Trades and Technologies at the College of New Caledonia.

And today, she represents a demographic that is of interest to the B.C. Construction Association. It’s called the Apprenticeship Services Program, designed to get young trades into jobs. But there is a hook. Additional funds for companies that hire the non-traditional tradesperson.

“So if The New Apprentice is in any equity-seeking group, whether that be a woman in construction, Indigenous part of the LGBTQ community, they can qualify for an additional $5,000,” explains Nicole Bryant, CEO of the Northern Regional Construction Association. Bryant says even today, women only represent 7% of the construction industry. It’s a sentiment Montgomery-Hewett understands.