North Shore nonprofit gives urban Indigenous people ‘ACCESS’ to trades training

By Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News A hands-on program based in West Vancouver is giving urban Indigenous women a boost in finding jobs in the trades sector. The non-profit Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services (ACCESS) has wrapped up their Try a Trade For Indigenous Women program, giving folks sample training in pipefitting, welding and electrical. The organization is one of the most comprehensive Indigenous training providers in Canada, offering a variety of training and employment programs and services while supporting 49 per cent of Indigenous trade apprentices in the province, according to their 2023/24 annual report. Recent data from ACCESS shows that 15 per cent of their learners are women, which is three times more than the national average. “Many of our people are in poverty,…

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