BY CATHERINE BROWNLEE,
PRESIDENT OF ALBERTA ENTERPRISE GROUP (AEG), CALGARY AND EDMONTON CHAPTERS

Alberta’s been on a roll. In July, Moody’s upgraded Alberta’s outlook from stable to positive and affirmed its AA2 credit rating. The respected research firm cited the province’s balanced budget, debt repayment legislation and spending constraints for its decision. The following day, the Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate to 4.5 per cent, only the second such cut in more than four years. As inflation continues to ease, economists expect the rate to be lowered again this month.

Lower interest rates coupled with a strong fiscal foundation have kicked Alberta’s economy into high gear. One indicator is housing starts. Between January and April, total housing starts hit 13,560, which is the most ever during this period of time in the province’s history. Year over year, housing starts were up more than 60 per cent in April.

Builders are going to near-heroic lengths trying to keep up with demand. Unfortunately, their efforts are being hampered by the Canada-wide skilled labour shortage. Attracted by relatively affordable housing, a range of economic opportunities and innovative incentives like the Alberta is Calling: Moving Bonus, the province has had success in attracting skilled workers from elsewhere in Canada.

However, it isn’t enough, especially with the wave of impending retirements. Roughly 42,500 skilled workers are expected to exit the labour pool in the next decade. Alberta needs more Albertans entering the skilled trades, and one pioneering non-profit is doing its part by focusing on a traditionally overlooked group – women.

For more than 25 years, Women Building Futures (WBF) has helped train nearly 3,000 Alberta women for careers in the skilled trades and commercial transportation. The non-profit is best known for its popular Journey to Trades program, an introductory course that prepares women with the basic hands-on skills, safety certifications and experience to start a good-paying career in the construction trades.

Much of WBF’s success can be attributed to a corporate culture that reflects its mission – empowering a diverse range of women to contribute and excel. At the helm is Carol Moen, a mechanical engineer who held a series of leadership roles during her 30+ years in the energy industry, most of that time with Dow Chemical. Deciding she wasn’t ready for retirement, she jumped at the opportunity to become WBF’s CEO in 2019.

Under her leadership, the non-profit has grown its geographic footprint beyond Edmonton to Calgary, Fort McMurray, Saskatchewan and even Ontario. It has also expanded its program offerings and intensified its outreach to Indigenous women. This year, WBF will graduate more than 270 Alberta women from their programs, up from 150 women in past years.

For her contributions, Moen has been nominated this year for a Business Leaders award. The annual honour celebrates those Edmontonians who contribute in an outstanding way to our vibrant and growing city.

WBF is a standout when it comes to innovatively addressing the skilled labour shortage. Combining industry-leading training with much-needed financial support for living expenses, books, and supplies, WBF has developed a winning formula to empower unemployed and underemployed women to get to work building the province’s future, and their own.