Annual Industry Meeting and Awards Breakfast: A Learning Workplace is a Healthy Workplace
The 7th Annual Industry Meeting (AIM) took place on October 28, 2021. This was an in-person event with an option to attend virtually extended to all who registered. There were 123 in-person as well as more than 40 online participants who attended the event which was, by all accounts, a tremendous success. Following the welcome and opening remarks, Ava Czapalay, Deputy Minister and Chief Executive Officer, NS Labour, Skills and Immigration brought greetings from the Province and assisted with the launch of NSAA's renewed Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Framework (EDI), 'Building More Equitable Pathways II'.
This year, in addition to the Apprenticeship Award of Excellence and the Platinum Employer Milestone Award, a new Apprenticeship Ally Award of Excellence was presented. Keynote speaker, Ikechukwu Daniel Ohaegbu, Executive Director, Atlantic Student Development Alliance spoke on "Moving Forward Together", addressing the need to create healthy and effective workplace cultures, making change on a systemic and structural level, and how leaders of organizations can affect change. A panel, moderated by Carol Dayment (Board member), discussed how employers can value and support diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplaces, with each panelist sharing their experiences on a personal level. The panelists were: Frederick Crawley (A-Tech Welding), Ellen Rhyno (Rhyno’s Ltd.), and Paul Pickering (ISANS). In closing, the Apprenticeship Board Chair, Brad Smith, shared his personal experience of white privilege and thanked everyone for their participation at the event.
Check out NSAA's 'Building More Equitable Pathways II' video, which was premiered at the meeting and which accompanies our EDI Framework:
Check out videos of NSAA's 2021 Award of Excellence recipients: