Leah W.

Forty-year-old Leah is a proud member of the McMurray Métis.

Together with her husband, Nathan, Leah has three beautiful children who have all been raised in Fort McMurray — the community they call home.

She heard about the Class 2S Melt Training program through word of mouth, and contacted Athabasca Tribal Council’s (ATC) program coordinator, Natalie Cunningham, right away. Natalie helped Leah gather the documents needed and then Leah was accepted into the Class 2S Melt program.

“Natalie was so supportive, super encouraging and very easy to talk to about the process and training of the program. Not to mention she’d check in at least every second day. I’m very thankful,” said Leah.

The Class 2S Melt Training program was at Sparksman. “They were all easy going and knowledgeable throughout the training program. It was a busy couple weeks going through the process of getting all the documents and courses needed for the program, but in the end it was all worth it,” she said.

After successfully passing the written and road test after the training, Sparksman offered Leah a job as a School Bus Driver. “I am loving the job! As a stay home mom for many years and not in the workforce, it was definitely a challenge and big change for my family and I. But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t change one thing!”

When asked what she would tell someone who is thinking about taking the Class 2S Melt Training program or a similar program, Leah said: “I would definitely recommend others for the program. Everyone was very helpful and supportive throughout every step. Thank you ATC, Natalie and everyone involved for offering such an amazing program.”

The Class 2S Melt Training program is funded by Service Canada and the Government of Alberta – Alberta Labour & Immigration and administered by the Athabasca Tribal Council. The hiring partners in the project are Sparksman Transportation Ltd. and Fort McKay Alcor.