This year’s Trades Week has been incredible thanks to you!
Trades Week by Design
On May 19 and 20, Build a Dream successfully delivered Trades Week – an engaging two-day virtual event designed to promote careers in the skilled trades to thousands of high school students, parents and educators across Ontario.
Trades Week included thoughtfully crafted panels with a diverse group of speakers, opportunities to engage with employers and pathways, and several ways for attendees to win amazing prizes. The event was held on an intuitive platform which enabled participants to explore the virtual space and curate their own experience.
In addition to key presentations offered on the Main Stage, other events elements included: side stages for focused conversation and branded virtual booths and interactive breakout rooms for our industry partners. To integrate experiential learning, Build a Dream partnered with Domino’s Canada to host Ontario’s largest virtual pizza party to parallel a live pizza demo illustrating how the skilled trades impact our lives and how careers in this field keep the world moving.
We would like to thank our corporate sponsors, partners, school board contacts and the government of Canada for helping us achieve tremendous success in hosting Ontario’s largest virtual skilled trades event.
Achievements
Highlights by the Numbers
Audience Snapshot
- 31% in Grade 9
- 26% in Grade 10
- 24% in Grade 11
- 17% in Grade 12
- 2% Other
Session Tracks
Attendees had the opportunity to select session tracks for a customized experience.
Day 1
A deeper dive on a pillar of the skilled trades that interested them the most of the 4 Sectors:
Day 2
Focused on becoming “job ready” and NEXT STEPS in student’s career journeys led by LEADERS in the SKILLED TRADES:
Survey Says
Why students, families and educators decided to spend two inspirational evenings with us:
- To learn more about careers in the skilled trades
- To learn about apprenticeship opportunities available to me
- To have my questions answered by industry professionals
95%
Would CONSIDER A CAREER IN THE SKILLED TRADES AFTER ATTENDING
We asked our audience what types of tools and resources would help them with career planning.
- Online Resources
- Mentorship Programs
- Navigating Your Career Guide
- Professional Development Workshops
- Networking Events
Social Engagement
Over the course of Trades Week, the event was promoted across all social channels and received an incredible response. Not only was social media used as a vehicle to communicate with Build a Dream followers, it was integrated with the event itself to keep students engaged.
Trades Week Metrics
- 100K+ impressions across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
- Attendees engaged with Build a Dream with over 800+ posts and comments on May 19/20!
Speaker Showcase
All panels featured a diverse group of speakers with various breadths of experience among all pillars of the skilled trades. This was intentional as each speaker shared their unique career journey and offered insight from a different lens.
Interactive Elements
A Message to Ontario Students from Build a Dream’s President and Founder
“You are our future. You are bright. You are smart. The future is all yours for the taking. I want you to believe in the power of your dreams I want you to believe that YOU can help create, design and build a beautiful world.”
Nour Hachem-Fawaz