MONCTON, NB, CANADA - Local employers in Moncton, NB have shown great interest and confidence in the graduates of the Wood Manufacturing Council’s (WMC) recently completed “Women in Non-Traditional Trades” program. Nine of the ten participants who completed the training now have full time employment with firms in the area, invited to join our celebration for the ladies in non-traditional trades who are ready to begin working in the wood manufacturing sector.

The skills delivery, which took place over 18 weeks, used the WMC’s “Wood Employee Readiness Curriculum” (WERC), which provides a basic introduction to the wood manufacturing industry and includes essential skills training, a basic wood manufacturing (shop) and safety component and a job placement component. The training was delivered by the provincial Workplace Essential Skills team and the woodworking training was delivered by and housed at the New Brunswick Community College. Job placements were made available by kitchen and countertop manufacturers, construction and window and door producers etc.

WERC is a pre-employment skills development program designed to attract individuals from a variety of backgrounds—including Aboriginal, Metis and Inuit Canadians, youth facing barriers to employment, persons with disabilities, women, new Canadians and immigrants working in Canada. It has been designed to introduce individuals to basic requirements and gain an understanding of entry-level occupations and employers’ expectations in the wood manufacturing sector.

The ultimate goal of the program is to provide job readiness training for eligible and prospective workers from equity groups, enabling them to begin working with manufacturers upon the completion of the training or to pursue further education.

WERC opens new doors for people who might not otherwise have considered a career in advanced wood manufacturing. The goal is to improve recruitment, training and career development of equity and target groups while meeting the training and labour resource needs of industry. During the development of the program, manufacturers were represented by HR managers from cabinet and millwork firms, who provided specific industry needs and input.

WMC would like to congratulate the graduates and thank the employers for their engagement, for hosting job placements and for their interest in hiring the graduates. We wish to thank our funding partners, the Province of New Brunswick, Post-Secondary Education Training and Labour, and the Government of Canada through their Youth Employment Strategy, whose support made this initiative possible.

Opportunities for future WERC programs are being identified. Established in 2002, the WMC was created to help wood products manufacturers address the human resource challenges they face. For more information please contact:

Richard Lipman, President, 613-567-5511 [email protected]

Norma Ricker, Project Development, 506 435 1680 [email protected]

Funded by the Government of Canada and the Province of New Brunswick through the Canada-New Brunswick Labour Market Agreements/ Financé par le gouvernement du Canada et la province du Nouveau-Brunswick dans le cadre des Ententes Canada/Nouveau-Brunswick sur le marché du travail.