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"WE'VE SEEN MANY TIMES HOW WOMEN SUCCEEDING IN THIS INDUSTRY HAVE HAD A POSITIVE EFFECT ON THE LIVES OF THEIR FAMILIES AND FUTURE GENERATIONS." Mark Little, Executive Vice President, Oil Sands & In Situ, Suncor Energy, Fort McMurray, Alberta 10 HIGHLIGHTS In 2013, employers and industry associations continued to approach WBF seeking ways to address the ongoing labour shortage by bringing more female workers into the workforce. This interest from industry gave WBF the opportunity to engage in partnerships that bring about measurable business and social outcomes. The WBF/Imperial Heavy Equipment Operator Program, which involved the recruitment, assessment and training of 16 women, wrapped up in early 2013 with all of the women successfully completing the program. Twelve of the women were hired by Imperial for the Kearl Oil Sands project, and the other four were hired by another oil sands mining company. To make this training opportunity happen, a number of organizations committed considerable resources — Imperial, Emeco, Finning Canada, Mammoet Canada, Lehigh Hanson Materials Limited, SureHire Occupational Testing, and the Province of Alberta. The success of this program led to immediate plans for the second WBF/Imperial Heavy Equipment Operator Program, which will begin in March 2014. TFL Industrial, an Edmonton-based steel fabrication, construction and maintenance company also partnered with WBF in 2013. The company was looking for innovative ways to diversify its workforce. Through this partnership, WBF will recruit, assess and train eight women and prepare them for TFL Industrial as apprentice welders. The eight-week program will begin in February 2014. Employers continue to support WBF in many other forms, including financial sponsorships and donations, in-kind donations, work experience opportunities and site visits. In addition to this valuable support from industry, employers also employ WBF graduates and, in many cases, indenture them as first year apprentices. The number of employers hiring WBF graduates has steadily increased over the years — in 2013, 37 new employers hired graduates from WBF programs, bringing the total number of employers hiring WBF graduates to date to 209. PROVIDE WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS GOAL 3 2013 OUTCOMES AND KEY INDICATORS KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES 2012 2013 New Employers hiring WBF graduates 38 37 Total Employers employing WBF graduates 172 209 Employer partnerships such as these will continue to grow and evolve in WBF's future.