Say Yes: How to Build Youth Engagement and Female Trades Enrollment by Inviting Everyone In

Okanagan College has rapidly increased female enrollment in trades and overall college and departmental collaboration on SEM and equity initiatives through a focus on partnerships in hands-on outreach and exploratory activities for youth in the past 3 years.

With leadership support for priority seats for females in Trades Sampler and all Foundation and Apprenticeship intakes, along with engagement with organizations such as the Canadian Home Builders Association and the Canadian Association of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology, the college has been able to take action toward Transformative Inclusion, whereby supporting female participation and success in trades is now part of our institutional culture.

This has supported OC to be one of two institutions in BC with significant increases in trades training funding in recent years, successful proposals to the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy and some of the highest female enrollment in the province and in the country. It has also led to significant opportunities with industry partners, increased PAC membership, an academic research publication with SEM Quarterly, deeper connections across college portfolios and campuses, best practices for domestic recruitment, and increased instructor and department chair participation in trades awareness and recruitment, exponentially increasing our capacity and outreach and leading to ongoing positive media coverage of our programs and expanding our reputation as a welcoming institution and for trades awareness in the community.

Learning Outcomes

• Best practices for female participation and retention in trades
• How to bring your department on board for SEM and EDI action
• How to build on your partnerships to support youth engagement