Thursday, March 14, 2024

Supporting Women in Trades

CLAC panel discussion in Kelowna, BC, aims to open doors for women in the construction skilled trades

By Elysia Reichert, Representative

On December 14, 2023, CLAC teamed up with Kelowna Secondary School to host an insightful women in trades panel discussion. The goal was to bring awareness and information about women in trades and to provide career options and information to students and families.

Four panellists, Jessie Cook, Krista Paine, Julie Patterson, and Nancy Darling, shared their experiences being a woman in the trades. Jessie, a CLAC steward and heavy equipment operator, candidly shared her personal journey navigating conventional education challenges and the winding career path that led her to working on an industrial construction site, first as a cook and eventually operating equipment. She shared stories of her personal accomplishments and challenges she faced working at mostly male-dominated work locations.

Krista, a local business owner, Red Seal carpenter, and president of the Central Okanagan Canadian Home Builders Association, talked about her involvement on the CHBA Women in Construction Committee and how many of the barriers that women still believe would stop them from entering the trades are not there anymore. She also provided valuable insight into how employers can support women in their workplaces and the importance of gaining training certificates to help your resume stand out.

Julie has worked in construction for 17 years, starting from her first position cleaning on site to now owning her own business as a finishing carpenter. She feels lucky to have had opportunities to try different trades before realizing she loved finishing carpentry and is grateful to have had mostly positive experiences working on construction sites. She felt that in demonstrating her competence in the trades and working hard, she no longer needed to prove herself as she earned the respect of her coworkers.

Nancy was told that working in the trades wasn’t an option for women at the time she graduated high school. But she eventually found her way into working in the trades by taking on the role of Women in Trades program director at Okanagan College 15 years ago. The college has a 12-week exploratory program that allows students to try 6 or 7 different trades and find out what is best suited for them.

Nancy explained how women and girls are less likely to have early engagement with tools. So having the opportunity to learn the basics and gain experience is essential to finding out what trade they like best. She also provided details on the college’s mentoring program where students are paired with existing experienced tradeswomen in the community. Okanagan College has also provided incentive bonuses to local businesses for hiring women in trades.

Jim Oostenbrink, Kelowna Member Centre regional director, moderated the discussion and Larry Richardson, CLAC Training BC director, served on the panel, sharing vital information about grants, loans, entry paths into the trades, and context into the skilled trades shortage and what CLAC is doing to address it.

“The industry needs people who are passionate about the trades and are talented and competent,” says Larry. “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.”

Larry also stressed how workplace cultural shifts need to happen on work sites to make for improved mental health and harassment-free work environments for all.

For more information on CLAC’s Supporting Women in Trades program (SWIT), go to clac.ca/SWIT.

Supporting Women in Trades

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