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business elite canada
H
JANUARY 2016
attributes the institution’s initial success
to support from UA Local 67, followed by
a series of partnerships with the Niagara
Peninsula Aboriginal Area Management
Board (NPAAMB), Huronia Area Aborigi-
nal Management Board (HAAMB) and, of
course, a number of government grants.
Harper also sits on the board for the Ab-
original Apprenticeship Board of Ontario
(AABO), playing an active role in increasing
the number of aboriginal people employed
in trades.
The Technical Trades Academy’s first facil-
ity stood at a humble 10,000 square feet
in Hamilton, Ontario. But now, the trade
school has expanded to a 33,000-square-
foot building in nearby Brantford. As a rec-
ognized non-college training delivery agent,
their focus is on developing students’ skills
in the heavy industrial trades like welding,
plumbing and steamfitting. The training in-
stitution offers pre-apprenticeship training,
especially for First Nations communities,
with the hopes that they will move into an
apprenticeship within UA Local 67, leading
to potential employment.
Valerie Vanderwyk, a long-time employ-
ee at the Technical Trades Academy, says
