Lowe’s Contributes to Skills Canada

December 8, 2010

(Left to right) Marc-Olivier Bélanger, Team Canada 2009 welding competitor and Canadian champion; Diane Ablonczy, minister of state - seniors; Donovan Elliott, president, Skills/Compétences Canada; Chuck Deighton, teacher, Lester B. Pearson H.S.; and Alan Huggins, president, Lowe’s Canada.

At the launch of Skilled Trades and Technology Week 2010, Skills/Compétences Canada, a national not-for-profit organization that promotes careers in skilled trades, announced a funding contribution from home improvement retailer Lowe’s.

At the event, Alan Huggins, president of Lowe’s Canada, announced a five-year, $1.25 million contribution to help promote skilled trades and technology professions to youth.

“Lowe’s is committed to helping close the gap on the impending shortage of skilled trade workers that Canada is facing,” said Huggins. “We are very passionate about the work Skills Canada is doing and are thrilled to partner with them. Through our investment, we will work with Skills Canada to help prepare the next-generation work force with the world-class skills needed to become the contractors and industry leaders of tomorrow.”

The funding is aimed at engaging students and teachers looking to improve their school campus, curriculum delivery, and community. The contribution supports high school projects currently in place in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario, and will expand to other regions. 

“It is because of partners like Lowe’s that we are able to continue our mission to encourage and support a coordinated Canadian approach to promoting skilled trades and technologies to youth,” said Skills/Compétences Canada President Donovan Elliott. “Skilled trades are the foundation of industries that drive the Canadian economy. With industry partners like Lowe’s, we can continue to help inspire and encourage youth to pursue career paths in skilled trades and technology while ensuring industry has the  pipeline of skilled labor workers that they need for the future.”

An initiative of Skills/Compétences Canada, Skilled Trades and Technology Week is an annual event that generates awareness of the growing skilled-labor challenges in Canada and recognizes students developing trade and technology skills. According to the Conference Board of Canada, a shortage of more than 1 million skilled workers is forecast by 2020, with an estimated 40 percent of all new jobs in the skilled trades and technology industries.

For more information, visit www.skillscanada.com.