Wednesday, July 5, 2023

A Successful Second Act

Keith Gaudaur took a huge risk when he decided to retrain as an electrician in his 30s. It was a gamble that paid off

By Cathy Miehm

KEITH GAUDAUR WAS DOING DOUBLE duty throughout his 20s—working in commercial printing by day and spinning records in clubs around Toronto at night and weekends.

But by the time he reached his mid-30s, he realized something had to change.

“I was married with two young kids, we were in a small apartment, and we were really struggling financially,” says Keith. “At that point, I could really see the way the printing industry was going. More and more of the skilled guys were losing work. I knew it was only a matter of time until I was going to be in that position as well.”

He had also given up his work as a disc jockey, a part-time gig he loved and had been doing since he was a teenager.

“With raising the kids, it was hard to be working during the day and then out all night,” he says.

Keith realized he would have to retrain but was uncertain about which field to pursue. In the end, he chose to follow advice he received from a teacher when he was in high school in Stouffville, Ontario.

“To be very honest, I was not a great student in high school,” says Keith. “But I took one electrical course that I actually did really well in. My teacher at the time even said, ‘You know, this could be a good career option for you.’ But I didn’t stick with it.”

DECIDING TO EMBARK ON A career as an electrician was the easy part. Going back to school in his 30s—then finding someone to take him on as an apprentice—was a challenge.

“It had been a long time since I’d been in school, so it was a bit of a struggle to get back in the mindset of a student,” says Keith, who took a six-month preapprenticeship course in Vaughan, Ontario.

“I was probably the oldest in the class, but there were a few people who were in their late 20s and a couple right out of high school. There was also a guy who was a licensed auto mechanic who decided he wanted to try something different. So, it was a really neat range of people in the class.”

His wife, Amy, was totally on board and took on all the care of their young boys and their home so Keith could focus on his training. The hardest part of that training for Keith was math.

“We were doing math that I’d never done in high school,” says Keith. “So, I was kind of learning that along the way as well as trying to pick up all the electrical knowledge. I was fortunate that my wife was really good at math, so she was able to help me with that.”

Keith came out of the course with excellent marks and bright hopes for moving into an apprenticeship.

But this became another huge hurdle. His preapprenticeship teacher advised him to go door knocking, resume in hand, at electrical contractors across the Greater Toronto Area.

“I did that for quite a while and I got no bites,” he says. “One person after another just kept saying, ‘Sorry, we can’t take any apprentices on right now.’ The real obstacle with a lot of the contractors that I spoke to was my age. A lot of them said I might be a bit too old to start an apprenticeship.”

BUT FATE INTERVENED, IN THE form of Keith’s mother.

“As luck would have it, because my mom still reads newspapers, she happened to see an ad in the Toronto Star, and she faxed my resume—without even telling me—to the company I work for

now, Rumble Electric,” he says.

The manager at Rumble viewed Keith’s maturity as an advantage.

“He saw me as somebody that had everything to lose if it didn’t work out, so he knew I wasn’t gonna flake,” says Keith. “He knew I would work hard.”

That was 11 years ago, and Keith has been with Rumble Electric Co. Ltd. ever since, earning his journeyman’s ticket in 2017.

“I’ve been really fortunate that the company I’m with treats their employees very well,” he says. “The guys that I did my apprenticeship with were so supportive, especially with the position I was in, getting started with a second career. They gave me a lot of time and a lot of their knowledge.”

Rumble currently employs about 30 electricians who work across the GTA and beyond. They joined CLAC about six years ago, and his coworkers asked the affable Keith to take on the role of union steward. He also worked with his employer to establish a health and safety committee.

His approachability and knack for putting people at ease are skills he developed during his days as a DJ. While he still enjoys listening to all types of music—with a special fondness for bands from the 1980s, like U2—he has no desire to go back into the clubs and spin discs.

“I’m going to be 47 this year, so I’m happy to just come home from work and relax,” says Keith.

BECAUSE HE AND AMY STRUGGLED so much in their early years, they are really grateful for the quality of life they have achieved since Keith made his career change. Their two boys, Tyler and Lincoln, are teenagers now, and it has been a good lesson for them.

“They saw me go into the apprenticeship, and it was nice to be able to model that kind of hard work for them,” says Keith. “It let them see that life can really be a struggle at times, and you’ve got to work for everything. I think our boys have a real appreciation for what they’re given just because they know how hard their mom and I had to work to get here.”

He hopes his experience will encourage other people to consider a midlife career change if they are struggling or unfulfilled in their current job.

“I don’t know where we would have been if we hadn’t made this step,” says Keith. “We were very fortunate because it wasn’t only me who upgraded my career. Amy wound up getting a great job with the TDSB [Toronto District School Board] working in a kindergarten classroom.”

After Keith got his licence, they were able to buy their first home, and the boys were able to pursue lots of extracurricular sports and activities.

As Keith says, “Changing to a skilled trades career set us on a much better track for life.”

A Successful Second Act

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