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Collège Boréal to offer pre-apprenticeship program for women

This summer, Collège Boréal will be offering a new pre-apprenticeship training program exclusively to women interested in jump-starting their career as industrial mechanic millwright.

This summer, Collège Boréal will be offering a new pre-apprenticeship training program exclusively to women interested in jump-starting their career as industrial mechanic millwright.

The 38-week program, set to begin on July 13, will provide women with hands-on experience in the mechanical field. Students who enrol in the pre-apprenticeship program will familiarize themselves with what the industry has to offer, work with various types of equipment, and perform a number of activities with a direct link to their training.

“Women continue to be underrepresented in the skilled trades sector despite the growing demand for labour in these occupations,” college president Pierre Riopel said in a release. “Pre-apprenticeship training programs such as this one help young women discover different career opportunities, thus increasing the number of women in the skilled trades sector.”

The goal of pre-apprenticeship training programs is to help students develop their job skills and trade readiness so that they will be prepared to find work as apprentices. After completing this pre-trade program, graduates are eligible to assume entry-level positions, begin apprenticeships in a skilled trade, or continue their education.

Offered in Sudbury and Timmins, Collège Boréal’s Industrial Mechanic Millwright pre-apprenticeship program includes the Level 1 apprenticeship in-school training, relevant safety training, trade readiness, employment preparation, academic upgrading, and a work placement.

“The trades industry is always in need of skilled professionals, but without prior experience, it can be difficult to decide which trade to pursue,” said Brian Vaillancourt, dean of the School of Trades and Applied Technology, Collège Boréal. “This pre-apprenticeship program will better prepare women to become a millwright apprentice, giving them the skills needed to work and succeed in a typically male-dominated field.”

This program is presented as part of the skilled trades stream of the Women in Skilled Trades and Information Technology Training program offered by the Ontario Women’s Directorate (OWD).