Celebrate Diversity in Skilled Trades

This spring, Edge Factor is celebrating Skilled Trades careers as we share real life stories of people from diverse backgrounds who have launched rewarding careers. You can equip educators, industry, and workforce leaders with high impact tools to showcase diverse people and careers in the skilled trades. The goal is to engage students and job-seekers, reach parents, and connect businesses and schools, and share the message that the skilled trades provide rewarding career opportunities for every community member.  Edge Factor’s Skilled Trades Toolkit highlights inspirational stories of diverse people from diverse backgrounds, providing insights on their rewarding, skilled trades careers.

A skilled trade is a career path that merges hands-on work with specialty knowledge. Skilled trades workers keep our economy and lives moving forward, as they build and maintain infrastructures like homes, schools, hospitals, roads, farms, parks, and so much more. Skilled tradespeople ensure our critical industries continue to operate, as they perform many services that we rely on every day. Careers in the skilled trades span manufacturing, agriculture, construction, industrial, hospitality and service, automotive, electrical, HVAC, masonry, engineering, painting, culinary arts, child and youth workers, power generation, and so much more. The opportunities are endless and this toolkit is all about opening students’, parents’, and job-seekers’ eyes to the pathways available in today’s modern world.

The Skilled Trades Toolkit 

The Skilled Trades Toolkit is free for everyone to access, and includes high impact media that features skilled trades professionals from different cultural backgrounds, highlights how Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) come alive in a variety of industries, and teaches the importance of soft skills like teamwork, problem solving, and lifelong learning. 

5 Reasons why YOU should join us in hosting a Skilled Trades Event:

1. Inspire students from diverse cultures to pursue careers in the skilled trades.
   
   
2. Recruit students and job-seekers from diverse backgrounds to enroll in technical education training programs in high school and/or post-secondary. 
   
   
3. Promote the inclusive culture of the Skilled Trades.
   
   
4. Build relationships with companies, schools and families in the community. 
   
   
5. Reach parents at home to change the narrative around skilled trades careers and training programs. 

Edge Factor’s mission is to guide students and job-seekers through a career exploration journey from, "I have no idea what to do with my life!" all the way to “I have browsed the opportunities, made informed decisions, and launched a local training and career pathway.” The team members at Edge Factor often say, “We run with runners and we turn silos into pillars.” Partnering with leaders in education and industry demonstrates the shared commitment to creating, sustaining and retaining a robust skilled trades workforce. Edge Factor empowers communities across North America to tackle workforce development, inspire students, reach parents, and build relationships between local companies, schools, and families. 

Tools to Promote & Celebrate Diversity Month

This spring, celebrate stories of real people from diverse backgrounds who have launched rewarding skilled trades careers.

March 8: International Women's Day
Be inspired and celebrate extraordinary women who have launched rewarding careers in the skilled trades.

April: Celebrate Diversity Month 
Celebrate the diverse group of people who have launched rewarding careers in the skilled trades.

April 2: Autism Awareness Day 
Each of us has unique challenges and abilities that make us who we are. Share Ethan's story of growing up and finding his place as a person with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Unlock the tools you need to engage, educate, and inspire the next generation of trades professionals.

During the months of March, and April, Edge Factor is providing a FREE Skilled Trades Toolkit to equip educators, industry, and workforce leaders with high impact tools to showcase diverse people and careers in the skilled trades. Use this toolkit to align with International Women's Day, Diversity Month, Global Recycling Day, Developmental Disabilities Month, Autism Awareness Day, or Earth Day! Show students and families how skilled trades professionals are turning challenges into success, and how sustainability and AI are impacting the future of skilled trades.