Women in the Skilled Trades: What the Research Shows and How to Get Started

Women wire buildings, weld steel, diagnose engines and draft the parts that factories build. Each year, more of them choose a trade. In welding, the number of women registering as apprentices in Canada has grown more than eightfold since the early 2000s.

This article looks at the latest Canadian research on women in the trades and what helps them complete their training. It also explains how to get started if you're considering a trade yourself.

Where things stand

The numbers have moved, but slowly.

1. About 1 in 8 apprentices in Canada is a woman. Women's share of apprenticeship registrations rose from 7.6% in 1996 to 12.5% in 2024 (Future Skills Centre and Diversity Institute, 2026).
2. In electrical and automotive work, it's closer to 1 in 15. Women make up 6.2% of electrician apprentices and 6.9% of automotive service apprentices (Future Skills Centre and Diversity Institute, 2026).
3. Representation varies a lot from trade to trade. In the 2021 Census, women held 14.8% of Red Seal trades jobs overall. In the construction, mechanical and industrial Red Seal trades, the share was 5.2% (Statistics Canada 2021 Census, via Toronto Metropolitan University, 2026).
4. More women are trying welding. In Canada, 582 women registered as welding apprentices in 2023, up from 69 at the start of the 2000s (CWB Group, citing Canadian Apprenticeship Forum data).

Why it matters

Trades workers keep homes, cars, factories and networks running. Up to 700,000 tradespeople are expected to retire across Canada by 2028 (Future Skills Centre, 2026). In Quebec, the Commission de la construction du Québec estimates the construction industry will need about 16,000 workers a year from 2025 to 2029 (CCQ, 2025).

Every trade needs skilled people, and a trade is a skill you keep for life.

What holds women back

Research by the Future Skills Centre, the Diversity Institute and the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum keeps finding the same barriers:

1. No one presents it as an option. Many girls rule the trades out long before they choose a program.
2. Being the only one. Being the only woman in the shop or on the site can be isolating.
3. Equipment and worksites built for someone else. Gear that doesn't fit and unwelcoming worksites push people out.
4. Finishing is harder than starting. In Red Seal trades, 34% of women registered as apprentices completed their program, compared with 47% of men (Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, 2023).
5. An earnings gap. Eight years after certification, women in Red Seal trades earn about 46% of what men earn. Researchers link much of the gap to differences in which trades women and men enter (Future Skills Centre and Diversity Institute, 2026).

What helps

Try it with your own hands. Early, hands-on experience is one of the supports the research highlights. Seeing a workshop, holding the tools and talking with someone who does the work make it much easier to decide whether a trade is right for you.

See people like you doing the work. Mentors, instructors and graduates who look like you make it easier to picture yourself in the trade.

Get guidance at every step. Choosing a program, understanding admission and planning how to pay for training are all easier when someone walks you through them.

Know all your options. Every trade offers its own path. The research encourages women to explore the full range, including electrical, mechanical and welding work, where fewer women train today.

From first step to finish line

These supports all make it easier to take the first step and to keep going until you finish. That idea also shapes how we teach at Aviron. We believe a skilled trade should be within reach for anyone ready to learn one, whatever their background. Our approach has three parts:

1. Explore the trades and find the one that fits you.
2. Practise in real workshops, with instructors who have done the work.
3. Progress toward a diploma or certificate, with support for your next step.

Every learner gets personal guidance along the way, in French or in English.

Explore a trade at Aviron

Since 1937, generations have learned their trade at Aviron. Here are the programs you can explore:

DEP programs: ministry diploma, 1,800 hours, some with a workplace internship

1. Electricity (DEP 5795 in English, 5295 in French)
2. Automobile Mechanics (DEP 5798 in English, 5298 in French)
3. Welding-Assembly (DEP 5882 in English, 5382 in French)
4. Industrial Drafting (DEP 5725 in English, 5225 in French)
5. IT Support (DEP 5885 in English, 5385 in French)

In-house courses: school certificate

1. General Welding: 240 hours, from zero
2. Vehicle Mechanics: 600 hours, with a path into the DEP

No previous experience is needed to start. We'll guide you from your first question to your first day.

Curious about a trade? Our workshops are open to you. Book a visit with our admissions team:

1. Call: 514-739-3010, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2. Email: info@avirontech.com
3. Online: contact us

Institut technique Aviron de Montréal · 5460 Royalmount Avenue, Town of Mount Royal, QC H4P 1H7 · avirontech.com

Sources

1. Future Skills Centre and Diversity Institute, Women in Trades: Progress, Barriers and Opportunities (June 2026)
2. Toronto Metropolitan University, Diversity Institute, Women Remain Underrepresented in Canada's Skilled Trades (August 2026)
3. Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, National Registration and Completion Trends in Red Seal Trades (2023)
4. CWB Group, The skilled trades labour shortage has a gender dimension
5. Commission de la construction du Québec, labour needs forecast 2025–2029 (2025)