YWCA Hamilton to receive $6.4 million to train women in high-skill tech sectors and develop an app

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We’ve got big news, Hamilton!

We’re thrilled to announce that YWCA Hamilton is receiving $6.4 million from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario to help women advance their careers.

With this funding, YWCA Hamilton will provide support and training to help women transition into high-skill jobs in sectors where they are traditionally underrepresented, particularly advanced manufacturing and specialized technology.

This funding will allow us to offer training to 70 women over three years that will help them gain new, high-tech skills in industries traditionally dominated by men. We will offer them wrap-around services and facilitate every step of the process, from their application, to their orientation, to their training, to their entry into the workforce.

Phase Two of this funding will see YWCA Hamilton spread this new program to different YWCA Member Associations across Southern Ontario, including St. Thomas/Elgin, Cambridge, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Toronto. We are also looking forward to partnerships that will be confirmed in Eastern Ontario. Through the second phase of this program, up to 150 women will be re-trained and ready for new job opportunities.

Phase Three of this program will see us work alongside YWCA Canada, as well as our industry partners and YWCA Member Associations across Ontario, to launch a digital application that will help women advance their careers with the help of their smartphones.

This app will provide personalized learning and skill enhancement to hundreds of women across Ontario. This app is the first of its kind in Canada and will provide opportunities for women to compete for positions in technology and skilled trades.

Thanks to an investment in 2019 of over $1 million from the WES Ecosystem fund, we have been able to help women pivot their businesses online, or start new web-based businesses. So far, 32 women have received this training and mentorship in communities including Hamilton, Halton, Niagara, Waterloo, Guelph and more.

We are pleased to share that YWCA Hamilton is receiving an additional top-up investment of almost $139,000 to provide additional support to roughly 75 women who want to take their businesses online.

These investment aligns closely with our new Innovation Centre at the Putman Family YWCA on Ottawa Street, scheduled to open its doors in spring 2021.

This state-of-the-art facility will not only include 50 affordable housing units for women and women-led families, but it will also include Seniors, Community, Youth and Innovation spaces. Our new Innovation Centre will strengthen the leadership potential of women and girls in skilled trades, technical fields and entrepreneurship.

This centre, along with the programs made possible by this funding announcement, will bolster our continued efforts to make space for more women in sectors where often times, they are left behind.

The past few months have been hard, to say the least. Research has shown that women have paid a heavier price than men when it comes to the pandemic-induced recession.

But this funding will help us take an important step towards ensuring an economic recovery for women. It was Armine Yalnizyan who first said, “there can be no recovery without a she-covery.” A true economic recovery cannot – and will not – happen without women.

With your help, we can continue to work together to make this a reality.

Interested in learning more or applying with us? Sign up and we will contact you with more information!

Watch the full announcement here:

Nominate a woman who is making an impact in Hamilton or Halton for the 2025 YWCA Hamilton Women of Distinction Awards! Nomination Deadline is December 1, 2024 at 11:59 PM LEARN MORE

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