2006
Education

Denise Hanrahan, Director of the Division of Institutional and Industrial Education, is recognized for her ability to listen, observe, assess and understand the needs and challenges associated with the various stakeholders in the apprenticeship process. She looks at the “big picture”, meeting the challenges for our future workforce through her forward-thinking approach and dedication to the mandate of the division.

Among her accomplishments is her ability to communicate and coordinate with schools and their representatives to streamline the apprenticeship program – a program essential to the skilled trades in the province. She has been instrumental in helping secure funding for apprenticeship and post-journey training; assisting with the set-up of inter-provincial apprenticeship mobility between Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta; and implementing the Atlantic curricula for many of the trades for credit transfer.

Denise exhibits excellence in service delivery, leadership, innovation and relationship-building by helping bring many programs to fruition. She has revamped the Power Engineering Program; played a monumental role in the Student Transitional Educational/Employment Program; developed a strategy to encourage employer participation in the Target Wage Subsidy for Apprentices Program; assumed the role of Chair of the Communication/Promotion Committee of the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship; engaged a non-profit group to promote females into the trades programs; and initiated an agreement with other government departments to hire apprentices. The list of her accomplishments is long and varied, and speaks to the commitment she has made to the development of the skilled trades in this province.

Known for her creative approach and problem-solving abilities, Denise focuses on the importance of the individuals themselves and their dedication to the skilled trades they have chosen as their career paths. Committed to engaging her fellow employees, she demonstrates time and time again that the entire team is integral to the successful delivery of any public service program.

Stakeholders and co-workers alike often cite Denise as one of the most influential and motivating individuals they have ever known. To quote one stakeholder “if you are working with Denise, you know that you are part of the collaborative effort and that good things are going to happen, sooner rather than later!”