Women Building Futures with ATCO Frontec
Giving Women the tools of the trade
At ATCO Frontec we value an inclusive and welcoming environment, that’s why we’re proud to partner with Women Building Futures (WBF), a non-profit organization supporting women’s economic security through employment training and support services.
As part of our partnership, we're honoured to receive the Women Building Futures Employer of Choice (EOC) designation, which demonstrates our organization’s strong commitment to creating and cultivating a safe, equitable and inclusive workplaces for our employees.
Kaleigh Fairweather, currently a Maintenance Coordinator at ATCO Two Rivers Lodge, is excited to see how a program like Women Building Futures will grow the number of women working in trades.
“I started with ATCO six years ago as a Café Attendant and I've had the chance to move up through several different roles,” says Fairweather. “We have a diverse workforce and there has always been an opportunity to advance.”
Women Building Futures offers 25 employment training programs that introduce women to careers where historically, they have been under-represented. In 2021, 173 women graduated with skills to enter a new career path with confidence. Of those women, 70% were previously unemployed, 64% had dependents or children, and 20% were Indigenous.
Tanya Rexin, Indigenous Relations Manager for ATCO Frontec, values the strong commitment to Indigenous women and communities that Women Building Futures supports as part of their employment readiness programs.
“Being an employer of choice for Women Building Futures means we gain first access to graduates of these programs, further allowing us to support women, particularly Indigenous women, in trades. We are thrilled that this will open more doors to women who have trained with WBF and are looking for work in industry,” Rexin explains.
A variety of the Women Building Futures programs align with our business, and we look forward to supporting the Journeywoman Start program, and the Construction Bootcamp program, specifically.
Women Building Futures has a strong commitment to Indigenous communities and offers support services to Indigenous women to increase their readiness for programs and employment. These services include:
Individual success coaching services to support career exploration and goal setting.
A free self-paced e-learning workshop designed to take learners from the beginning concepts of numbers to working confidently with fractions, metric conversions, and measurement.
A free workshop focused on career exploration, introduction to online learning, goal setting and self-assessment.
The training WBF offers helps women plan and prepare to enter a new career path with confidence. With their head office located in Edmonton, they offers support services throughout Alberta and BC and will continue to look at other regions where women will benefit from their programs to support careers that include opportunity and economic security.
We look forward to a continued partnership with Women Building Futures to provide life changing career opportunities.
