THUNDER BAY — A skilled trades fair making multiple stops in the Northwest is aiming to match companies with people looking for work.
Chi Mino Ozhitoowin is scheduled to hold its Connect 2026 skilled trades, training and employment event in Fort Frances on March 24 and Dryden on March 25. It was at the TownPlace Suites by Marriott hotel in Thunder Bay on March 17. Chi Mino Ozhitoowin is the for-profit entity created by a group of seven First Nations that are partnered on the Waasigan Transmission Line.
“It’s so important because we have trained over a couple hundred people now and we want to make sure that they take full advantage of the training that we have provided for them and connect with real opportunities in the workforce,” Chi Mino Ozhitoowin CEO Peter Collins told reporters.
Contractors, engineering and electricity firms, and employment and training institutions were among the organizations who had booths in Thunder Bay, where representatives spoke with prospective job-seekers.
The companies present, Collins said, are joint venture partners with Chi Mino Ozhitoowin.
“The event will help attendees explore career pathways, learn about available opportunities and apply for positions on-site,” a media advisory from the organization said.
Charlie Windego made the trip from Nigigoonsiminikaaning, about 40 kilometres east of Fort Frances, to see what kinds of opportunities were available and to report back to his community, he said.
Nigigoonsiminikaaning is one of the seven partnered First Nations in Chi Mino Ozhitoowin. The other six are Eagle Lake, Fort William, Gakijiwanong (also known as Lac La Croix), Lac Seul, Ojibway Nation of Saugeen and Seine River First Nation.
“More importantly, I think, it’s for my grand-kids,” Windego said. “Because they’ve been trained … so, if there’s a way we can get them as an apprentice or on-the-job training, that’d be wonderful, and I spoke to some of these people and they said, ‘yeah, there are those kind of opportunities.’”
One of his grandchildren recently completed and graduated from a multi-week heavy equipment operator training course, Windego said.
“But now, the next step is to find a company that’s willing to take him further.”
In general, he said, that can have a snowball effect within communities.
“If we get one or two people, as a start, you’ve got to start somewhere,” Windego said. “It’ll show their peers ‘hey, you know what, I can do that if he can.’”
Chi Mino Ozhitoowin is also taking registrants for a 15-week line crew ground support training program. A handout at the skilled trades fair on Tuesday said graduates will be qualified for “entry-level opportunities with various power and construction companies seeking safety-conscious, ready-to-work employees.”
The deadline to apply for that is March 25.
“I think it’s an important message to get out there because there are opportunities that would (come from) working on the line alongside the linemen,” Collins said. “Take full advantage of the opportunities that are out there today.”
“And that’s our message to our folks in our communities — take full advantage, because the opportunities, they don’t come along that often. We want everybody to take advantage of them.”
