Dual-credit course launched with 14 students from Huron and Perth counties
South Huron District high school Leah Goodhue once thought she was destined for a career in the sciences.
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But after becoming one of the first students to complete the new electrical for women dual-credit course offered through a partnership between the Avon Maitland District school board and Conestoga College, Goodhue had a change of heart.
“From then on, I just learned that I loved using my hands and I loved working and doing that kind of stuff,” Goodhue said. “This class actually really changed a lot of things for me, and I think it’s a lot more likely that I will be pursuing it.”
The innovative program launched with 14 students in grades 11 and 12 from eight area schools as a means of increasing the number of women who are considering skilled trades as a career choice. Jim Brintnell, a dual-credit teacher with the board, noted that only about five per cent of skilled-trade jobs in Canada are held by women.
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“It has increased slightly over time, but we are certainly missing the mark in two areas – we’re not filling the trade gap that we have for the number of people that we need in the trades for the amount of work. . . there’s going to be, and we’re woefully off the mark when it comes to the number of women who are joining the trade,” the teacher said.
According to numbers provided by the school board, the construction industry in Canada will face a shortfall of roughly 85,500 workers by 2033, while Ontario is projecting a need of more than 100,000 new skilled trades workers over the next decade. Although there are around 1.3-million skilled trades workers in Ontario, around one-third are nearing retirement. In southern Ontario alone, there is a need to replace roughly 10,700 skilled trades workers who will be retiring or leaving the field over the next 10 years.
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“There’s a lot of press that says we have a skills gap when it comes to the trades. . . . (and) there’s not enough women in the trades, but what are we doing about it?” Brintnell said.
“We run some programs where we might introduce students to general trades, but here’s an example where young women can come in and actually take courses specific to that trade, and specifically with a class of young women so that they can see and learn from each other.”
That the skilled trades are male-dominated professions is not lost on Goodhue, who said she’s the only young woman in both her auto shop and construction classes.
“So going into an environment where it’s all girls, it just kind of makes you feel like you can actually do something,” she said.
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The students await Conestoga’s Skills Training Center in Ingersoll on Fridays, and learn both residential and industrial electrical studies. While Shawna Overholt, another South Huron District student, was interested in the skilled trades before starting the program, it gave her a more in-depth look than her high school’s construction class.
“It has provided me more of a sense of what I would be doing in this occupation and what circuits I would be building, and it’s provided me more of a sense of what I would be doing on the job,” she said.
It also helped Overholt feel more welcomed in a male-dominated field, she added.
“It’s a very welcoming environment. Everyone is pretty close, and everyone throughout the program are pretty hard workers. It’s allowing women to feel comfortable in a male-dominated trade. . . because that’s how it is. But they’re starting to open it up to wanting women to be hired in those types of trades and it’s provided confidence for people. I would say that they’re ‘man enough’ to do that sort of occupation,” she said.
The success of the program means the board and the college are looking at running it “over and over again” while a future expansion is possible, Brintnell said.
“When I look at the level of dedication, the expertise, the quality of work that they provide, the teamwork, even the humor in the class, it’s just outstanding. I just think that the future holds a lot if we can just continue to build upon the momentum,” he said.
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