ApprenticeSearch.com open house features VR, presentations, networking tips

In Ontario, 1.3 million people work in any one of 144 skilled trades, and though they are proficient in their selected trade, sometimes everyone can use a hand with fixing up a resume. 

ApprenticeSearch.com held an open house June 18-19 in Burlington, where more than 60 registered trades workers signed up to attend programs on interview prep, resume writing, and elevator pitches. 

“There’s a lot of demand for skilled trades, and we need to do everything we can to encourage the skilled trades economy,” Kelly Hoey, executive director of ApprenticeSearch.com said. “We want to help those people who are interested find a place that fits them if they’re well suited to the skilled trades, because it’s a fragmented system to navigate.”

Visitors were treated to virtual reality simulations of trade work, and could sit in on presentations on how to perfect an elevator pitch. 

Resume help is something that ApprenticeSearch users are regularly looking for. 

“A resume isn’t always an indicator of what you can bring to a job,” Meghan Paton, communications manager at ApprenticeSearch siad. “It’s a completely different skill set.”

Helping people find a way into a competitive job market is a necessity, and so is  ensuring they have the tools – literally and figuratively – to succeed once they are hired. 

Millwright Catherine Crouse was given a free toolbag for attending the event, and said she finally has somewhere to keep her tools that is easier to move than her metal tool box. 

“When I drove up and saw ApprenticeSearch.com outside, I thought this is awesome,” Crouse said. “I came in, pretended I knew what I was doing, and then started fitting in a little better. I had fun going around and doing everything I could.”

Having attended several presentations, Crouse added that the elevator pitch was the most useful thing she had attended. 

“I think this is the networking part that I’m missing, and probably that a lot of people are missing,” Crouse said. “There are barriers too, but I think if everyone participates it will get better.”

More than 40,000 people in Canada use ApprenticeSearch.com to help with finding work in the skilled trades. That number jumped significantly in the last four years or so, with a significant portion of those being people who are re-entering the workforce in a new role. 

Some are coming back after trying a different career into their late 20s. Additionally, more and more women are joining the trades. 

“We have a women in skilled trades peer mentorship group, for women at all stages of their careers in the trades,” Paton said. “We’re seeing a lot of women coming in as career changers, who may have been discouraged from the trades when they were in high school.”

Anyone in the skilled trades looking for a hand in resume building and networking can learn more on ApprenticeSearch.com