The Working Mind
Trades Manager
On a job site, the supervisor sets the tone for everything, including whether mental health gets talked about at all.
Trades supervisors carry real authority and real responsibility. The structural demands of these environments are specific, the safety risks are high, and conversations about mental health have historically been harder to have here than in almost any other sector. Your workers themselves are asking for more, and as a supervisor, you're the one positioned to answer that call.
This program was developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, adapted from Road to Mental Readiness, the program the Canadian Armed Forces built to keep people functioning under sustained pressure. The trades version was built in direct partnership with the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA), Ontario's health and safety training body for high-risk industries, through extensive consultation with workers and stakeholders across construction, transportation, and electrical utilities. The scenarios throughout are drawn from real job sites, shops, and crews. Whether you supervise on a build, in a plant, in the bush, or on the road, the pressures the training addresses are the ones your people already work under.
Exceptional operational skill alone can't guarantee a psychologically safe job site. This program provides the framework to build one.
How leaders respond to these pressures matters. You set the tone for whether mental health stays invisible or becomes an active part of your safety culture. This program delivers the objective frameworks and practical tools needed to establish a safer, more resilient environment where your team can perform at their best.
$375 per person. 8 hours including breaks. Virtual. Canada-wide.
Don't see a date that works? Get in touch. Token is happy to arrange additional sessions for your leadership team, including in-person delivery. Hello@ateliermhl.ca
64%
of construction workers say they wish their employers did more to support
mental health at work.
Statistics Canada, cited in Opening Minds, 2025
The Curriculum
-
Developed by the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association in partnership with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, this program speaks directly to what trades leaders actually deal with: high turnover, tight deadlines, and a crew's mental health that can shift fast. It's delivered by a facilitator who has managed teams herself, not just studied them. It includes six videos of real trades workers sharing their own experiences with mental health struggles and recovery, along with scenarios and case studies drawn from heavy industry, so what happens in the room reflects what happens on the job. Good leadership can't run on empty, so this course protects your own resilience while giving you real tools to support your crew.
-
We'll begin by establishing a shared foundation, breaking down what mental health actually looks like on a busy job site. This opening module tackles the heavy stigma historically found in the trades, focusing on how crew culture directly shapes whether a worker feels safe enough to speak up, or chooses to struggle in silence until it impacts safety. -
Moving into our next session, we'll introduce the Mental Health Continuum Model. This tool replaces guesswork with clear, objective indicators. You'll learn to spot subtle shifts in behavior across your team, giving you the confidence to start a supportive conversation before a mental health struggle becomes a safety risk or a performance issue. -
In the afternoon, we'll pivot to focus entirely on you. Managing crews, client demands, and supply chains takes a massive toll. You'll examine your own stress responses and learn practical, evidence-informed strategies to manage frustration and pressure, ensuring you can keep a cool head and protect your own health under stress. -
We'll close the day by turning these frameworks into direct leadership actions. You'll practice the clear, down-to-earth language required to support a struggling worker. We'll map out how to handle modified duties, manage critical incidents on site, and confidently know when and how to connect a crew member to professional resources.Please note
For prevention purposes, this course includes content on suicide awareness. Verbal trigger warnings are provided prior to discussing this material to ensure a safe, supportive learning environment for everyone.
Culture
Cuts through toughing it out culture where struggle has long gone unspoken on site
Recognition
Flags behavioural changes in a crew member, before they become a safety incident
Action
Gives you the words to start that conversation with a crew member, without needing to have all the answers
Why Both Matter
Atelier Mental Health Literacy + Facilitation delivers The Working Mind as parallel programmes - one designed specifically for managers and one for employees - because what each group needs from this training is genuinely different.
When both cohorts complete their respective streams, they return to the same workplace with a shared language and shared frameworks for mental health. That shared foundation is what builds psychological safety - and psychological safety is what changes workplace culture.