"The concept of work experience is at the heart of our two social enterprises - the Fab Shop and Tradeworks Custom Products. Our youth and women's programs are now the core of [the society's] activity."
tradeworks.bc.ca
IT began by producing utility products like tool-caddies for the retail market and construction sites, but Tradeworks Custom Products now focuses on the corporate gift market and wholesale production, constructing thousands of wooden boxes, plaques, signs and pens.
On display at Rona's Third Street outlet in North Vancouver, the first items I saw were their exquisitely-crafted Christmas tree ornaments.
Another source for the workshop's products is the Saul Good Gift Company which also supports locally-made crafts. The company's mission statement not only stresses its commitment to fair-trade and sustainability, its founder Saul Good told me "It's been great working with Tradeworks over the last five years; their wooden products add a great social story to our Vancouver gift baskets.
"I've really enjoyed getting to know the women in their training program - and seeing how that social enterprise helps them to build their self-confidence," he said.
Incorporated as a non-profit society in 1994, the Tradeworks Training Society provides valuable employment and life skills to unemployed women and at-risk youth who might otherwise find it difficult to qualify for a job.
Supported in part by government, the society notes that "private donors have been the catalyst for innovation and responsive programs."
Carol Madsen, director of women's programs at the Vancouver-based society, views the Tradeworks Custom Products and Women's Workshop initiatives as a two-pronged "launch-pad" to permanent jobs for women wanting a better life for themselves and their children.
"As with the society's Rona Fabshop for youth," Madsen said, "we encourage women to develop trade skills like carpentry, joinery and cabinetmaking because that's where the jobs will be.
"They need to be able to earn salaries that are high enough to support them, and that means moving beyond women's more traditional employment sectors such as retail.
"Since 2009, Tradeworks Custom Products - the women's social enterprise - has paid out $275,000 in hourly wages to 41 women who have graduated from the society's provincially funded Women's Workshop," she said.
Madsen explained that workshop participants move on to employment, or into practicums, in a wide array of trades - plumbing, welding, automotive repair, etc. - and 41 have worked for fixed terms in the TCP.
Susan Kirk, director of communications for the provincial Industry Training Authority, says Tradeworks has been a Women-in-Trades Training service provider since 2008/09.
According to Kirk, "132 women have completed their program and in 2012/13, we expect 40 more . . . will complete their training."
Some of those participants have been so inspired by their initial successes they are now aiming to meet ITA standards for what it calls "the highly regarded Interprovincial Red Seal and B.C. Certificate of Qualifications."
While the women Madsen and workshop co-ordinator Arleen Dauncey have under their wing are not all from the Downtown Eastside, they come from a variety of backgrounds and the barriers to employment they face can be formidable.
Many are homeless, some have escaped abusive relationships, while others struggle with physical or mental illness and/ or poverty. Multiple addictions are an issue.
First Nations and other women from elsewhere in the province may not have the type of education training they need to qualify for the jobs available.
Others are new immigrants whose lack of language skills is a barrier - even though they may have arrived in Canada with skills they learned in their homeland.
The Women's Workshop provides participants with an opportunity to learn basic employability skills and explore trade opportunities.
Then, trade-specific, in a 10-week, part-time course, students are taught use and care of the shop tools they need. Mastering safety procedures is a must.
What a great story. So many of the mass-market decorations we see have been manufactured offshore, it was refreshing to discover that not only are locally-made items available, they are beautifully crafted by women who are struggling against considerable odds to improve their skills and support themselves.
That was good news by itself, but more was to come.
Because, together with the Rona Foundation and Saul Good, this story cannot end without mention of a few of the other groups and corporations who lend tangible support to the society's programs.
Of 20 or more benefactors: Concert Properties of North Vancouver's Harbourside fame is listed, as is the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Polygon Homes is there along with Rogers Sugar, the Vancouver Foundation, the CKNW Orphans Fund and many other familiar names.
Due to a need to protect their privacy, we have no way of knowing how many North Shore residents may have participated in these initiatives. What we do know, is that we are not immune to the social and mental health problems that led to creation of the programs in the first place.
Tradeworks and Turning Point - the group currently seeking approval for their proposal to house a nine-bed, women-only alcohol recovery centre adjacent to Murdo Frazer Park - are social enterprises we'd do well to welcome and support.
