This resource set addresses the systemic child care barriers that prevent workers from entering and staying in the skilled trades. It highlights how standard child care models, typically designed for a 9-to-5 schedule, fail to accommodate the early start times, unpredictable overtime, and changing worksites inherent in construction. The project provides a final research report alongside practical toolkits tailored for tradespeople, employers, and government officials. These resources offer strategies for navigating the current system while advocating for structural changes—such as flexible care hours and increased sector-specific support—to ensure child care access is treated as essential infrastructure for the workforce.
Credit: LiUNA Local 506
Date: 2025
CCWESTT acknowledges that our greater science, engineering, trades and technology (or SETT) community is situated on the ceded and unceded traditional territories of First Nation, Inuit, and Métis peoples from coast to coast to coast in what is known as ‘Canada’. CCWESTT fervently believes SETT is enriched through collective relations and knowledge sharing and is committed to helping enhance and build these relations. Full land acknowledgement here.