Whelan, who is president and executive director of Caregivers Inc. and Bren-Kir Industrial Supplies, located in Placentia, Marystown and Mount Pearl, thought the conference was very beneficial to her business since it is a nontraditional sector.
"I think that it opened up a whole new world of opportunities and gave me a better knowledge of supplier diversity and importance of supplier diversity in sustaining business," said Whelan.
Supplier diversity is a business program that encourages the use of women and minority owned vendors which will create more diversification within supply chains.
Whelan found that the conference helped her better understand these types of business programs.
"Most large corporations would have a supplier diversity coordinator who makes sure that they were not just buying from the same companies. Nothing against that but the same companies that have been in business for 200 years want to make sure that we give new entrepreneurs that tend to be more diverse in terms of their ethnicity and gender. It gives them more opportunity to be competitive in the marketplace."
Whelan was pleased to learn there would be supplier diversity in the Hebron project.
"I was really excited to hear that Hebron project in Newfoundland and Labrador is the first industrial benefits agreement specifically recognizes supplier diversity. There's been gender equity for employment or targets around gender and minority employment for some of our big industrial projects but supplier diversity is now included in the Hebron project."
While she's pleased about the possibilities, she also has questions.
"The question is, how does a company or group of companies like the Hebron project manage the process of making sure that they do use a diverse group of suppliers. The certification now offered through WEConnect Canada allows that to happen because that certification proves that you are an audited women-owned business, (and) we now have that certification. I now understand how supplier diversity programs work and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to take advantage of that."
Bren-Kir's main lines of business are fire, safety and industrial supply.
They sell to oil and gas, major construction projects, to municipalities and other institutions likes schools and hospitals.
This conference helped women who are working in male-dominated fields gain knowledge of how to operate and function in that type of environment.
Whelan recently received a Visionary Award through Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs (NLOWE) at their 'Entrepreneurs of the Year' gala in late April.
editor@thecharter.ca
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