- HOW MANY SPACES EXIST, AND WHAT NUMBER HAVE BEEN SET
ASIDE FOR WOMEN? IN WHAT LENGTH AND TYPE OF PROGRAMS ARE THEY?
Through the National Training Act it is possible for each region to set
target numbers of women for enrolment in their institutional and industrial
training programs. As part of the Women's Employment Strategy Plan of Action
1983-84 each region has been asked (a) to set targets for the number of women
to be trained in non-traditional occupations under the WINTO element of the
National Industrial Program in both GIT and CTST, (b) to set targets for the
number of female trainee starts in institutional training courses
non-traditional for women, (c) to set aside 30% of the seats on all skill and
technical courses identified as non-traditional for women, and (d) to set aside
30% of available BTSD seats for women who require upgrading to enter
non-traditional training. This 30% target is an increase over the 20% target
suggested earlier this year. However, in Nova Scotia for example, only 20% of
non-traditional job training places were designated for priority referral of
women, and a few other provinces are reserving slightly less than 30%. Since
the numbers of women taking up these priority training spaces have so far
proven to be fewer than the number of reserved spaces, reserving less than 30%
of non-traditional occupational training spaces is not presently a
problem.
The goals of the National Training program include a 42%
overall participation rate for female trainees, and a 30% participation rate
for female trainees in non-traditional areas. In the 1983-84 fiscal year,
regions will be expected to raise their rate of female participation in
training for non-traditional occupations by 5%. This means, for example, that
in Manitoba where last year the female participation rate in non-traditional
training areas was 8.6%, this year the rate must rise to 13.6%.
One
must keep in mind that the overall female participation rates mayor may not
include apprenticeship program figures, which greatly affect the final numbers.
The definition of a non-traditional occupation for women is generally taken to
mean any occupation in which less than 10% of the workers are women. There was
some hope expressed by a few Women's Co-ordinators that this definition may
soon be enlarged to include jobs where less than 20% of the workers are women.
- HOW MANY OF THESE SET-ASIDE SEATS HAVE BEEN FILLED? WHAT
HAPPENS TO THE UNFILLED TRAINING SPACES?
Although it was very
difficult to fill all set-aside seats last year, things seem to be improving
slightly this year. The greatest lament from all sources is "women don't want
it". It is at this point that all the job market strategies, all the
affirmative action initiatives, and all the goals and targets and quotas come
unstuck. Women are simply not clamoring for non-traditional training or jobs.
As one community college counsellor put it, "a forty year old woman entering
the labor force after twenty years of house-cleaning and child-rearing, simply
cannot visualize herself as a crane operator or a diesel mechanic". Even if she
does contemplate a non-traditional occupation, she must cope with the pressures
from family, friends, neighbors who will find it hard to accept her in a new
and non-traditional role.
When women do not take up the training places
reserved for them, these places return to the general pool of training places.
In most regions, the unfilled spaces become available to other applicants on
the waiting list two or three weeks before commencement of the course. As one
respondent described the procedure, "Other eligible clients are contacted to
avoid non-utilization of the training opportunity." It is still to be seen
whether unfilled reserved spaces will mean fewer training spaces set aside for
women in the following year.
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