Under the Women In Skilled Trades (WIST) program, an initiative of the Ontario Women's Directorate, Conestoga College has received a grant of $190,000 to offer a pre-apprenticeship skilled trades program to provide career opportunities for women in carpentry.
The program is already under development, and Conestoga expects to begin instruction for a maximum of 20 students early in August at its campus in Guelph.
The WIST program will be during the daytime for a total of 40 weeks. The first 30 will feature the development of carpentry skills at the Guelph campus, while the final ten weeks will entail on-the-job training.
Over the past three years, Conestoga has offered a number of successful WIST-funded programs in fields such as carpentry, precision machining, tool and die maker, and millwright.
The College will host a series of free information sessions about the upcoming WIST carpentry program, both to answer questions for potential participants and to promote the value and importance of apprenticeship and skilled trades training.
The sessions are 7:00 pm - 8:30 p.m. at the Guelph campus, 460 Speedvale Ave. W. Session dates are Tuesday, April 6; Wednesday, April 14; Tuesday, April 20 and Wednesday, April 28. For information and to reserve a place, call the campus at 519-824-9390.
CONTACT: Tanja Gancevich, 519-824-9390, ext. 182, tanjag@conestogac.on.ca