April 11, 2023 (Port Coquitlam, BC) – Electrical Joint Training Committee (EJTC)’s Managing Director Phil Davis is at the heart of EJTC’s support of inclusion in the electrical trades for indigenous communities, women, and underrepresented groups.
Through the Two Eyed Seeing Network (2ESN), a platform bringing Indigenous youth to the table to discuss and establish shock-proof pathways to future work, Davis brought to light the success of the multiple First Nations cohorts currently moving through EJTC’s Red Seal electrician training pathway, emphasizing the success taking place in the classroom, in the field and the recruitment process.
“We want to have, along with the IBEW and our contractor group, an inclusive and diverse workforce that is robust and able to manage the ever-changing electrical world, but we have pretty rigorous pre-requirements to enter our program,” said Davis. “When we find bright, indigenous candidates with those pre-requisites, they’re also being recruited by 3000 other organizations, like the RCMP, for example.
“We asked, ‘How do we get indigenous workers into our system?’”, added Davis. “Next, we designed an eight-week math and science prep program and said, ‘Come on in.’ We let our partners do the screening—the program sets these students up for success.”
Fast forward eight years and the EJTC manages approximately 70 Indigenous apprentices and 900 apprentices overall. Indigenous students train at EJTC’s Port Coquitlam-based campus, as well as the Squamish Nation Training Centre.
“The growth of our Indigenous cohorts is a result of this very focused program we developed to make sure we’re bringing in the right candidates,” said Davis. “We’re upscaling their math and science so that we can put them on a path to an apprenticeship with us. Our Indigenous partners have been very glad to have that and strongly support this model…At their request, it’s an Indigenous-specific cohort.”
Davis and 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. The continuing success and success stories are translating positively to EJTC’s initial barriers surrounding recruitment.
“We now have role models,” explained Davis. “We have Rosie, here. She went through the Pathways program and she has just excelled so phenomenally. She was awarded the top apprentice, not just the top Indigenous apprentice, but the top apprentice at her site. We’re looking at her representing us going into Skills BC. Now, other students can look and say ‘I may not have thought I can do this’ before, but now we have people like Rosie in a career that they’re thriving in.”
Davis reiterated the importance of working alongside EJTC’s partners to develop Indigenous-focused programs and alternative methods of recruitment.
“We simply wouldn’t be able to achieve success without background focus on Indigenous cohorts and our partners would say the same and would endorse that.”
About the EJTC
EJTC offers trades training and supports national standards ensuring a strong electrical Industry. The Electrical Joint Training Committee (EJTC) is comprised of five union Directors from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 213, four contractor Directors from the Electrical Contractors Association of British Columbia (ECA of BC) and one contractor Director from the Marine Employers.
About the Two Eyed Seeing Network
The Two Eyed Seeing Network is comprised of Indigenous communities, industry leaders, workforce & social development experts, and education/training providers. The 2ESN bridges gaps, removes barriers and establishes shock-proof pathways to future work for Indigenous Youth with the support of partners, Construction Foundation of BC, EJTC, Two Eyed Seeing Consulting, SRDC, Vancouver Island University and Foresight Canada.
For more information on the Two Eyed Seeing Network, please visit 2ESN.ca.
