Transcript: Meridian’s Reframe Program in Support of Building Up
[Light, instrumental music plays]
[Text overlays a blue background, above a Reframe logo.]
Meridian has been passionate about community support for more than 75 years.
As Ontario’s largest credit union, our communities define us.
[Text fades out and new text appears.]
Meridian’s Reframe Program supports the navigation of those facing economic barriers to education, training, hands on skills development, financial confidence and employment in the construction industry.
[A woman with light brown hair, wearing jeans and a red blazer, sits on a chair, beside a poster about the Reframe Program, with a warehouse behind her. She speaks to the right of the camera.]
Jay-Ann: Part of our vision to be a people-focused financial partner…
[Text appears in bottom left corner: JAY ANN GILFOY, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MERIDIAN]
Really, we’re looking at how do we help to address this?
[Closer shot of Jay-Ann speaking.]
It’s a catalytic program because it helps people who were barriered from employment get jobs. It helps builders get talent, and it helps to create more housing, which in the end is what we’re really trying to achieve…is allowing people to have a place to live so that they can be strong and healthy and they can thrive.
[A woman with brown hair, a blue top and red pants sits in the same chair, speaking to the right of the camera.]
Sarah: So we went out and did research…
[Text appears in bottom left corner: SARAH SASO, VP, ESG & SOCIAL IMPACT, MERIDIAN]
And looked at the issue. We found that 700,000 people are going to be leaving skilled trades by 2028.
[Closer shot of Sarah speaking.]
And so, what was the piece that was missing in all that ecosystem was actually…
[A team of skilled trade students work together on a project. Some are in hard hats, others in baseball hats. A woman with short hair and medium skin tone, wearing a baseball hat, leans on a wooden frame, talking to two men.]
[Sarah’s voice continues over the image.]
The people who actually build those homes.
[Another scene of students, all wearing black t-shirts, some wearing safety goggles, moving building materials into place.]
Reframe advances housing affordability...
[The woman with short dark hair, wearing a baseball hat, speaks to the group of skilled trade students. She appears to be their instructor. On her black t-shirt is a logo that reads “Building up”.]
By helping people…
[In the same scene, shot from the opposite side, we see more of the students. The teacher speaks using arm movements. Some of the workers are wearing air filter masks, others hold equipment. All of them are wearing t-shirts with the “Building up” logo.]
That want to build that housing…
[Close shot of someone holding a pair of safety goggles, writing notes with an orange pencil in a small notebook.]
Get access to a career in skilled trades.
[Return to shot of Sarah speaking in the Reframe poster.]
But it’s a different program. It’s not just getting access to the skills you need to build housing, it’s actually supporting people…
[Wide shot of classroom setting, where skilled trade students sit at large wooden tables, taking notes.]
That want to build housing…
[In a closer shot of one of the desks, two students sit on either side, taking notes. In front of them, a woman walks in front of a whiteboard, preparing to teach.]
That are facing an economic barrier…
[Close up of the teacher, who explains a math concept on the whiteboard.]
Get access to sort of a 360 view…
[Close shot, over a student’s shoulder while they work on a math problem in a workbook.]
Of supporting them as a person. We pay for them to be in the classroom…
[Close shot of teacher, working out a math problem on the whiteboard.]
Showing the respect for the skills…
[Two male students lean towards each other at a desk. One shows the other something on his calculator.]
That they’re gaining. And then we wrap around supports like…
[Side shot of the same two students, who look down at the workbooks and calculators in front of them.]
Financial confidence. So we give them a curriculum around…
[Close shot, over a student’s shoulder, as he punches numbers into a calculator.]
Basic understanding of banking and fundamentals and saving money…
[Close, front shot of teacher, who speaks to the class, using gestures with her hands.]
And getting out of debt and…and living your best life.
[A man with brown hair, a beard, and glasses sits in the chair beside the poster about the Reframe Program. He speaks to the right of the camera.]
Marc: Last year, we saw 4,000 applicants for 100 spots.
[Text appears in bottom left corner: MARC SOBERANO, FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BUILDING UP]
So…so, we know that the issue is that, it’s not that people don’t want to get in the trades, they don’t know how. And they need a little support to do that.
[Closer shot of Marc.]
Building Up has grown from…
[The woman with short dark hair, wearing a baseball hat, explains a concept to three male students. They watch as she uses a wooden frame to show them what she’s describing.]
Being just an idea to a…
[Close shot of two students at work, over a plywood structure. A Black man wearing safety goggles, studies a measuring tape that he’s stretched out. An Asian student, wearing glasses, safety goggles, and an air filter mask, takes notes.]
An organization that’s trained nearly a thousand people. Of which…
[The teacher in the baseball hat squats beside a female student with long dark hair. Both are wearing tool belts, facing a wooden structure as the teacher explains a concept.]
85% got jobs in the construction industry.
[Close shot of a male student, wearing a black baseball hat and t-shirt, leans over a piece of drywall with a pencil in hand. He marks a spot beside the measuring tape he’s extended over the drywall.]
Like, there’s…there’s a lot of people who…
[Close shot of Marc.]
Maybe were in and out of jail or were newcomers and refugees to the country that were feeling like they didn’t know where to turn.
[A young Asian woman with shoulder-length hair, wearing a black Building Up t-shirt and a light blue jacket, sits in the chair beside a poster about the Reframe Program. She speaks to the right of the camera.]
Summer: I had no idea about skilled trades at all…
[Text appears in bottom left corner: SUMMER, REFRAME PROGRAM PARTICIPANT]
I couldn’t even picture myself, like…
[Closer shot of Summer.]
Doing this role…so, it’s like, it opens a new path for me. My life has the meaning, for myself for now.
[Even closer shot of Summer. Only her head and shoulders are in frame.]
Before that, maybe I’m just very lost, overwhelmed by the…how do you say that…the difficulty, the new situations in Canada. But now…
[Summer stands in front of a wall, lined with tools and other equipment. She holds a microphone and appears to be speaking to a group.]
I can say I’m a really confident female…
[Camera pans to audience, filled with people in business clothing, who are listening to Summer speak.]
About my work…
[Camera shows higher shot from behind the audience, showing Summer speaking on top of a small wooden stage, with Reframe posters on either side.]
About myself. About my identity.
[Return to Marc, who sits beside the poster about the Reframe Program. He speaks to the right of the camera.]
Marc: I never thought when I was getting this going that we’d get there. Really, I don’t think I knew what that would all mean.
[Close shot of Jay-Ann speaking with microphone to the group.]
Marc’s voice continues: And just to see it unfold in this way. And to be able to…
[Shot of audience in suits and business clothing, sitting and listening.]
Bring in supporters like…
[A shot from behind the audience. The man on stage has medium skin tone and his hair in a large bun. He wears blue pants and a grey top, speaking into the microphone as he reads from a piece of paper.]
Meridian to…to kind of support with that journey is really…
[A shot of Marc on stage, speaking with the microphone to the same group, smiling.]
Inspiring and…and exciting…
[Marc standing with Summer and Jay-Ann and others from the audience. He smiles and waves others towards them. They’re lined up in two rows, as if they’re preparing to have a photo taken.]
And feels like it was all worthwhile.
[Close shot of Sarah, sitting beside the Reframe poster, speaking off-camera.]
What is my wish for the future of Reframe? Well, that is that we’ve expanded this program. As Marc talked about, the Building Up program has 4,000 applicants for a hundred spots.
[Sarah’s voice continues to speak over a shot of the teacher with short hair in a baseball hat, as she speaks to the group of skilled trade students, who stand in a circle around her. She leans on a wooden frame.]
So, we can’t say people don’t want to work in the trades.
[Close shot of teacher explaining a concept to two students, holding a ruler.]
They want to work in the trades.
[Two skilled trade students examine a wooden frame. One is a Black man with a beard in a baseball hat. The other is a woman with medium skin tone and long dark hair. She’s wearing safety goggles. After they speak, the man leans back, talking and laughing with someone off-camera.]
They want access to these jobs and these careers, which are good-paying careers. So that they can have a great life for themselves and their family and improve their economic wellbeing.
[Jay-Ann sits beside the poster about Reframe, speaking off-camera.]
If you help everything grow, everybody prospers together and that’s one of the things we really believe in is we want our Members to achieve their best life.
[Closer shot of Jay-Ann.]
And we think to do that, it’s going to take a community to make it happen.
[Close shot of Summer, who faces the camera directly.]
Meridian, thank you for believing in people like me. Through your Reframe Program, you’re creating real opportunities for those who were overlooked and underestimated. Your support is life changing and it makes all the difference. Thank you.
[Reframe logo]
[Meridian logo appears below, on the left. On the right: “In support of” the Building Up logo.]
[Music fades out.]
