Manitoba non-profit First People’s Development Inc. (FPDI) is launching a new campaign to raise further awareness about its Take on the Trades apprenticeship support project and a financial incentive it is offering employers.

The campaign, called “Take Our Money,” places emphasis on that financial incentive – an offer of up to $20,000 to employers who hire first-year apprentices in the trades. The program is supported by the Government of Canada.

“FPDI has money to give away, and we wanted that incentive to stand out. Rather than complicate the creative, we decided to be direct and tell Red Seal business owners in Manitoba to ‘take our money,'” says Alexandra Martin, partner and director of strategy at creative agency Brandish, which worked with FPDI to develop the campaign. “The concept positions us an an ally, working with industry leaders to ensure more young Canadians are entering the trades.”

The campaign, which launched Aug. 21, is anchored by a 45-second hero spot that bluntly encourages small- to medium-sized businesses to hire first-year apprentices from diverse backgrounds.

The trades are already experiencing labour shortages due to a lack of eligible workers, and that problem is expected to worsen as the majority of the existing workforce ages out. This campaign – and the Take on the Trades program – aims to both diversify the trades and address that shortfall by offering enticement to people considering a career in the trades, as well as prospective employers who might hire them.

FPDI, which was founded in 2006, is focused on administering programs like Take on the Trades, which meet labour market demands both within and outside of 28 Manitoba First Nation communities.

This is the second campaign for FPDI by Brandish for the Take on the Trades program. The previous campaign drove a 300% spike in organic search and a 9,000% increase in traffic to FPDI’s landing page.