Sep 11, 2023
A new and fully equipped welding lab at the Matawa Education and Care Centre (MECC) in Thunder Bay, Ontario, was completed in April 2023 as part of the CWB Foundation ScotiaRISE grant. The new facility bolsters the MECC’s goal of empowering Indigenous youth by helping them connect to their identity in a safe and supportive environment.
Previously, the MECC had difficulty offering a welding program due to the funds required to renovate the space necessary to accommodate a welding lab. With generous support from ScotiaRISE, the MECC renovated and purchased the equipment needed to have a fully operating welding lab for the surrounding community to use beginning in the fall of 2023.
Access to programming specific to the economic and trade sector in the region, such as welding, is a game-changer for MECC students. The new welding lab and the program will increase student engagement, promote an increased interest in the trades in both male and female students, and increase attendance and graduation rates, ultimately enhancing the possibility for additional education, apprenticeships, employment, and skilled trades careers.
The MECC has been in operation since the spring of 2022 and provides housing for Matawa youth who have transitioned to Thunder Bay from their remote First Nations to attend high school. Many youths in attendance have been out of secondary school for an extended period or removed from provincial schools for varying circumstances. The MECC works diligently and tirelessly to create opportunities to bridge service gaps needed for Matawa youth to continue achieving personal and academic success.