March 17, 2020
Dear educators and partners: The health and well-being of students, educators, staff and all the people we work with is our primary concern. We continue to monitor the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on our day-to-day work and on initiatives with our partners in education. We are working to follow the guidelines established by Health Canada and other global health authorities, and are taking steps to prevent the spread of infection.
I wanted to personally give you an update on what we at the Foundation are doing to respond to this situation.
Staff and our offices:
The staff of the CWB Welding Foundation are following the new protocols of the CWB Group. Specifically, staff will be rescheduling or canceling any non-essential business travel and meetings or will be arranging for meetings to take place virtually. As an organization, we are implementing social distancing protocols and arranging for staff to work from home. These protocols should not disrupt any of the critical work of the Foundation, and we thank you in advance for your understanding. You can read more about the CWB Group response here:
English / Anglais: https://www.cwbgroup.org/covid19
French / Français: https://www.cwbgroup.org/fr/covid19-fr
Educators Conference:
Many of you may have already registered to attend the Annual Welding Educators Conference in BC, May 26-27, or are hoping to attend, and some of you may also be applying for the Foundation’s bursary to support your attendance. I am working with the senior leadership team at CWB Group to determine whether or not to continue with this event. We expect to make a decision next week and will inform registrants and speakers at that time. We will update the Educators Conference page on the website with any new information: https://www.cwbgroup.org/industry-support/educators-conference
Programs underway:
There are a few Foundation programs currently running at host institutions. We are in contact with staff at those institutions to be aware of any cancellations or closures that might affect the delivery of programs, and we will work with them to make alternate arrangements or to reschedule.
Program applications for 2020-2021 Mind Over Metal Camps:
Most provinces are just starting their March Breaks, and some are dealing with extended school closures and other issues. We want to ensure that all schools that wish to apply for a future program have the chance to do so. To allow everyone to have more time, we are extending the deadline for Mind Over Metal Camps by two weeks to April 5. We are also extending deadlines for other programs. We will update our website with these changes: www.cwbweldingfoundation.org.
As the situation continues to evolve, we will monitor developments closely and work to ensure our practices align with recommendations from Health Canada and other health organizations.
On behalf of the CWB Welding Foundation team, we look forward to continuing to work with you to promote welding as a career and enhance the quality of welding education across Canada.
Sincerely,
Susan Crowley
Executive Director
CWB Welding Foundation
www.cwbweldingfoundation.org