Executive Summary:
The Women in Skilled Trades (WIST) CNC Mechanical Millwright program was built on a partnership between the community, labor union, education, and employers to bridge the gaps and break down the barriers that limited the ability of women to enter and be retained in the skilled trades in the Windsor-Essex region. Working with community organizations and school boards, WEST actively recruited diverse women with multiple barriers to employment. Participants attend St. Clair College to participate in 15 weeks of training for Level 1 Industrial Mechanic Millwright Apprenticeship in-school Curriculum and 70 hours of hands-on” CNC Practical Skills with General Machinist concepts.
The general purpose of this evaluation was to determine how well the WIST program was implemented, what was attained in terms of human and social capital gains, and the strengths and weaknesses of the program itself. Within this broad purpose, the objective of the process evaluation was to describe problems, solutions, and best practices demonstrated in the implementation of the WIST partnership model. This evaluation examined the elements of the WIST partnership model to determine what methods of service delivery or implementation strategy were linked to the successful outcomes for participants.
Findings:
The key findings are organized based on data collected on participant outcomes, participant perspective, and service deliverer perspective. The latter includes data from interviews and surveys administered to employers, educators, and program staff involved with the administration of the Women in Skilled Trades (WIST) training.
