GM Canada supports Skills Ontario initiatives encouraging women to pursue tech and trades careers

GM Canada has joined as a sponsor for Skills Ontario’s Young Women’s Initiatives. Skills Ontario offers programs to encourage young women to pursue careers in technology and skilled trades.

The not-for-profit organization relies on the support of businesses to continue offering such programs to the Ontario youth.

“We are very grateful to GM Canada for joining us as a sponsor,” said Ian Howcroft, CEO of Skills Ontario. “Working together and setting skilled trade and technology leaders up for success is crucial. Skilled trades and technologies play an imperative role in our lives and continuing to support these fields and the professionals working within them benefits us all. Together, we can build our future skilled workforce.”

For over 20 years, Skills Ontario has been running its Young Women’s Initiatives program. Through experiential learning, mentorship, and networking opportunities, the organization has reached thousands of young women with an aim to inspire them to explore career paths they may have never considered before or might have even been discouraged from considering. Initiatives include Career Exploration Events, an International Day of the Girl virtual activity series, an International Women’s Day Conference, and more.

“As a woman in trades, I’m proud to work for GM as we dismantle barriers and perceptions that prevent women from pursuing careers in skilled trades and technology,” said Jennifer Cowdrey, electrical/chassis/ HVAC quality engineer at CAMI Assembly in Ingersoll, Ontario. “We’re working with Skills Ontario to help empower women to be their own advocates and to pursue what they believe in, working collectively to make work a more inclusive place.”