In 2003, CCWESTT began the Women in SETT/Femmes en SGMT Initiative to strengthen policy and practice to increase women’s recruitment, retention and advancement in science, engineering, trades and technology in Canada. Achieving this mission will strengthen Canada’s economy by capitalizing on our full human resource potential, providing solutions to skills shortages, and increasing innovation capacity and global competitiveness.

Primary work in Phase I included input on important issues from CCWESTT members, consultations with stakeholders and institutional leaders, research, and building relationships.  In Phase II, we presented the strong business case for increasing women in SETT, and proposed a model for the Canadian Centre for the Advancement of Women in SETT.

Phase III

In 2007, CCWESTT again received funding from the Women’s Program of Status of Women Canada to advance the WinSETT initiative.  Specifically, the focus of Phase III is to develop, deliver and evaluate recruitment and retention products and services for organizational partners addressing skills shortages in four designated sectors:

• Oil and Gas
• Post-Secondary Education
• Construction and Trades
• Information Technology

Preliminary resources include Welcoming Women into Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology Workplaces: A Checklist of Strategies.  Pilot workshops and activities have been identified for the four sectors, and services are being delivered in various locations across Canada in 2008.  The WinSETT initiative is promoting these models and resources for expanded dissemination to stakeholders.

Providing strategic guidance to assist the Working Committee, help promote WinSETT and leverage our influence, is an Advisory Panel of high level leaders in key stakeholder organizations.  Support from CCWESTT member organizations and other external partners continues to strengthen our efforts.

Presentations on the WinSETT Initiative, the oil and gas workshop, Project Catalyst, and the skilled trades pilots, were made in June 2008 at the national conferences of CCWESTT, the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Oil and Gas Industries Association.

For more information, contact:

Carolyn J. Emerson, Project Coordinator
carolyn.emerson@earthlink.net
Tel: (709) 754-7646; (709) 746-4702