The Government of Alberta is investing more than $1.5 million over three years to help Indigenous students meet Alberta’s residential construction demand.
The investment will be made through Trade Winds to Success over the next three years beginning in 2024-2025. Trade Winds to Success is an Indigenous-led non-profit organization which helps Indigenous students train for rewarding careers in the skilled trades.
“Through partnerships with Alberta’s government, Union Training Trusts, employers, and the Indigenous community, Trade Winds to Success has helped to increase the number of Indigenous people training and working in the skilled trades, with more than 3,000 individuals supported since 2005,” a release from the Alberta government reads.
The new funding is intended to support Trade Winds to Success’s operations so they can deliver valuable programming, including their Residential Construction Program.
According to the Alberta government, students in this program take foundational courses for six weeks, followed by 12 weeks of hands-on training where they learn techniques to construct eco-smart small homes for Indigenous community members. Upon completing the program, students receive 330 hours towards their first year in Alberta’s carpenter apprenticeship education program.
The Residential Construction Program is expected to enrol 156 participants over three years. “This investment will help address labour needs in the province,” the press release states, “while empowering Indigenous students to find rewarding careers as they help build their communities and the economy. Alberta’s government continues to support Indigenous Peoples and all Albertans in meeting the economic needs of today and tomorrow.”
"Indigenous-led non-profit organizations like Trade Winds to Success help ensure that Indigenous Peoples are included at every level of the economy – as owners, workers and partners,” said Rick Wilson, Alberta’s minister of Indigenous Relations, in a statement released to the media. “This funding will help Indigenous students gain valuable training in the trades, and moves us forward as we build a stronger, more inclusive economy."
