Success With Indigenous Communities at the Electrical Joint Training Committee

A diverse, highly skilled workforce is needed to meet the existing and anticipated demand in the rapidly changing electrical energy sector. The Electrical Joint Training Committee (EJTC) addresses this need by embracing, supporting, and welcoming Indigenous Communities, women, and other underrepresented groups into the electrical workforce with open arms.

“We, along with the IBEW and contractor partners, seek an inclusive and diverse workforce that is robust and able to manage the ever-changing electrical world,” said Phil Davis, Managing Director of the EJTC.

The EJTC opened its first fully Indigenous class in 2017 and has been able to continually modify these classes over the years to better suit the needs of the participants. By 2019, EJTC had 59 Indigenous apprentices. Currently, there are 73 Indigenous apprentices, making up 9% of the EJTC’s total apprentices. This has been an incredible accomplishment for the EJTC and those who have played a role in this success.

The strong partnerships that make up this project are key to the tremendous growth of the All-Indigenous Pathways Program. The EJTC has partnered with the Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services Society (ACCESS) for the past 6+ years. ACCESS is an organization that provides employment and training program services to Indigenous people while helping them overcome employment barriers and find rewarding career opportunities. ACCESS works with its students to make sure they succeed.

Electrical Training Program for the Indigenous Students

With the help of their fabulous partners, the EJTC currently feature an Indigenous roster of a dozen Foundation program students, two Level 2 cohorts, and two Level 3 cohorts, the latter who will soon make the jump to their Level 4 training and inch that much closer to Red Seal certification. A new program that has been added is the All-Indigenous Security Technicians Training program. The continuing success and success stories are translating positively to EJTC’s initial barriers surrounding recruitment.

The Indigenous students of the EJTC have had many successes over the years. A great example is Wakenniosta Rosie Cooper. “Wakenniosta is one of our talented apprentices and role models,” said Phil, “She was one of our first female Indigenous students that went through the Pathways program, and she has continued to excel from the get-go. She was awarded the top apprentice in her large electrical company. She will represent us in the Skills BC competition in April 2023. Now, other students can look and say, ‘I may not have thought I could do this before, but now we have people like Wakenniosta in a career they’re thriving in.”

Wakenniosta recently won the EJTC’s Apprentice of the Year Award and had the opportunity to meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Biden at the Parliament Building during a speech and conference in March of 2023. She is a role model apprentice and a role model for women and Indigenous interested in and/or currently working in the trades. She will soon represent the EJTC at the Skills BC competition in April 2023. Wakenniosta is one of many Indigenous apprentices excelling in their new careers.

Written by: Savannah Davis, ClearWater Communications Co.