Notes for an address by

The Honourable Lynne Yelich
Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification

Funding announcement

Corresponding Document: News Release (2010-03-26)

Check against delivery

Thank you Wanda.

Good morning everyone.

I am delighted to be here with you today at Women Building Futures on behalf of Western Economic Diversification Canada. To begin, I would like to acknowledge my fellow platform guest: JudyLynn Archer, President and Chief Executive Officer for Women Building Futures.

As a not-for-profit organization that provides apprenticeship-ready skills for women preparing to enter non-traditional careers in the trades, Women Building Futures is helping its students to build better lives and achieve economic independence.

Over the last twelve years, it has established a well-deserved reputation for the high rate of success of its training programs for underemployed and Aboriginal women. Women Building Futures has provided job training support to more than 400 women with a student graduation and placement rate that is consistently 90 per cent or greater.

That’s a great number of women and their families whose lives have changed for the better. I think it’s fair to say that these programs have increased the ability of these women to contribute to and strengthen the capacity and viability of our economy. 

For these reasons, I am so proud to announce that Western Economic Diversification Canada is providing more than $267,000 for Women Building Futures to extend its services and program delivery to include women outside Edmonton.

Women across the province will now have greater opportunities to access training and develop new skills to make career choices that might otherwise not be available to them.

WD’s investment here today builds on our previous funding of almost $2.5 million towards the conversion of this building from a warehouse to a teaching centre to support the Women Building Futures training program. WD’s support of the warehouse conversion project resulted in 82 women graduating in 2009 compared to 35 in 2007; this represents an increase of 133 per cent.

Today’s funding announcement takes the WBF program to the next level so that it can reach out to women in rural areas and provide them with the opportunity to develop new labour skills. The installation of videoconferencing equipment, for example, allows women to participate in the application and assessment process directly from their communities. In fact, WBF’s videoconferencing capability will be fully compatible with equipment currently used by WD’s Western Canada’s Business Service Network organizations, which include 27 offices located throughout rural communities in Alberta.

The Government of Canada recognizes that access to skilled labour is one of the primary drivers of productivity improvement, and therefore contributes to sustainable economic growth. Women Building Futures’ success to-date, along with increasing interest from industry and other orders of government, demonstrate the continuing need and demand for the skilled women who graduate from the WBF program.

Western Economic Diversification Canada’s mandate is to promote the development and diversification of the economy of Western Canada – and this project is one example of how we are delivering on that mandate. This project directly contributes to the viability and diversification of the local economy by increasing the capacity of Women Building Futures to graduate more students and facilitate immediate employment entry into non-traditional trade opportunities.

One of our Government’s key priorities, as recently highlighted in the Speech from the Throne, is building the jobs and industries of the future. We recognize that the success of Canada’s economy depends on a skilled and educated workforce. Through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, our Government will continue to provide enhanced support for skills, apprenticeships and training for Canadian workers.

The success of the women who graduate from the Women Building Futures program is a testament to the hard work and commitment of the administrators, instructors, mentors, and of course, that of the students themselves.

You are all changing lives that are individually resilient and collectively remarkable. To the graduates and future graduates of Women Building Futures, remember, you are the pillars of your society.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this project. Together, we are building a stronger West for a stronger Canada – now and for the future.

Thank you.