Training & Equity Initiatives on the British Columbia Island Highway Project: a Model for Large-Scale Construction Projects.

Large-scale construction projects, even when they involve massive amounts of public money have been notorious for the overwhelmingly "white, male" face of the workforce. While governments profess to be committed to equal opportunity in employment, making the labour force more inclusive on public construction projects has not been a high priority, particularly when the large project is highway construction. One exception to this pattern of highway building is the $1.2 billion Vancouver Island Highway Project in British Columbia which was started in 1994. The intention of this study of the equity provisions of the IHP is to analyze the features of the initial project agreement which permitted equity initiatives to be implemented, to evaluate the quality and quantity of training received by members of equity target groups, and to assess the experience of the people affected by the conditions of the project.