A Running Start

Progressive, engaging, supportive and committed. That’s how the Office to Advance Women Apprentices describes the Atlantic Canada Regional Council of Carpenters Millwrights and Allied Workers (ACRC).

The Starting Line

Eleven years ago ACRC’s Carpenters Local 579 in Newfoundland and Labrador took a proactive approach, committing to diversity and inclusiveness, and began working with the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial government to create the Office to Advance Women Apprentices. The union committed to manage and guide the office as a hub for tradeswomen and welcomed tradeswomen into their union with the opportunity for them to gain employment on various industrial sites.

Racing into the Future

ACRC worked with other trades unions and contractors to ensure women had a place in the skilled trades sector, brought discussions of respectful and inclusive workplaces to the boardroom table, and assisted many tradeswomen in advancing through their apprenticeships in carpentry, millwright, and scaffolding. This union has helped change the industry and increased the number of women working in under-represented skilled trades in the province. Today, the Office to Advance Women Apprentices has grown, and is a model being replicated in five other provinces across the country.

The ACRC has union offices in all of the Atlantic provinces and has partnered with the office in Newfoundland and Labrador and the federal government to bring the Office to Advance Women Apprentices to Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. The union also provides support for the Office in Nova Scotia.

Far From Finished

Inclusion is not a matter of political correctness; it is the key to growth. The ACRC has seen that growth, walking the walk to change the culture we once knew in the trades and they continue to work to break down the barriers that are identified.

Want to join the incredible women who have thrived thanks to this partnership? Get in touch and start on your path to success.