About Us
Advancing Women in the Skilled Trades
ConnectHER is a national initiative focused on advancing the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in the skilled trades across Canada.
Built through collaboration between industry, educators, employers, advocacy organizations, and community partners, ConnectHER works to strengthen pathways into the trades while helping create more inclusive, supportive, and equitable workplaces and job sites.
Through mentorship, resource sharing, industry engagement, and community connection, ConnectHER brings together the people, organizations, and ideas helping drive meaningful change across Canada’s skilled trades sector.
Supported by a network of partners including polytechnics, community organizations, workforce development leaders, and advocacy groups, ConnectHER is helping build a stronger and more connected skilled trades community for women across Canada.
Together, these partnerships help create opportunities for training, mentorship, networking, collaboration, and shared learning while supporting women in building successful and rewarding careers in the skilled trades.
ConnectHER is funded by the Government of Canada’s Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy.
Funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy
Empowered by
Why ConnectHER Matters
Across Canada, employers and industries continue to face growing skilled trades workforce shortages while many women still encounter barriers to entering, remaining, and advancing within the trades.
ConnectHER recognizes that creating long-term change requires more than recruitment alone. It requires collaboration, mentorship, education, industry leadership, and a commitment to building environments where women feel supported, valued, and empowered to succeed.
By working together, we can help strengthen workforce pathways, improve workplace culture, and create greater opportunities for future generations entering the skilled trades.
What ConnectHER Does
- Promoting inclusive and supportive skilled trades pathways
- Supporting mentorship and community connection
- Highlighting success stories and lived experiences
- Engaging employers, educators, and industry leaders
- Sharing resources, tools, and industry insights
- Creating opportunities for national collaboration and dialogue
National Working Group
ConnectHER is more than a project – it is a growing national community built on collaboration, mentorship, and shared action.
Empowered by Fanshawe Corporate Training Solutions, the ConnectHER National Working Group brings together organizations, industry leaders, educators, and advocates from across Canada who are committed to advancing women in the skilled trades.
The group includes representation from:
Postsecondary education & skilled trades training providers
Community and advocacy
organizations
Workforce development
partners
Industry and
employers
Together, these partners help guide conversations, share knowledge, identify challenges, and support initiatives that contribute to meaningful industry change and more inclusive skilled trades pathways across Canada.
To learn more about the National Working Group and ConnectHER project partners, visit our Partners page.
Your Voice Matters
The ConnectHER Industry Survey invites employers, leaders, supervisors, tradespeople, apprentices, educators, and industry partners to share their perspectives on the barriers, challenges, and opportunities facing women in the skilled trades.
Your input will help identify what’s working, where change is still needed, and how industry can move forward together to create more inclusive and supportive skilled trades pathways across Canada.