If more women are going to end up working in the trades industry, you need to get them while they’re young.
That’s what a handful of trades stakeholders were thinking when they came up with the idea for the Carpentry Projects for Girls camp at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus. Fourteen girls between the ages of nine and 12 took part in the week-long camp that concluded Friday. They drilled holes, hammered nails and built everything from door stops to planters to oversized games.
Jocelyn Lyons, who is going into Grade 6 at Casorso Elementary, likes to create items at home with materials that are destined for the garbage can or recycling bin, so her mom figured the carpentry camp would be ideal. Mom was correct in that assessment.
“I liked everything,” Lyons said, “but I kind of liked at the end when you are like: I built this!”
The camp was a pilot project that was funded by the Government of Canada’s Union Training and Innovation Program- Women in Construction Fund, and the Industry Training Authority delivered the camp. Red Seal-endorsed and Okanagan College instructors, who also oversee the successful Women’s in Trades Training program, taught the girls how to hammer, drill and sand.
“They used the hand drills, they used some hand saws, they used sanders—all the hand-type equipment—squares and pencils and stuff like that,” Okanagan College trades instructor Tom Podmorow said. “They did really well. With girls, it doesn’t take a lot of instruction. You show them once, and away they go.”
Lyons’ favourite tool was the wood burner. “It heats up, and then you can write in wood and make designs,” she said.
Tara Fong, who is ITA’s equity seeking programs manager, was beaming with pride as the girls showed off their creations to parents and media.
“It’s great, because the girls come in at such a young age,” Fong said. “They’re fearless. They have a great time. They feel confident. They learn how to use saws and measuring tapes and put things together and be collaborative and have a really good time.”
It’s a good bet this pilot project will become a regular summer event as the trades industry does everything it can to get more women involved.
“There’s a lot of different ways you can start to normalize that women can be in these male-dominated occupations,” Fong said.
As for Lyons, you can bet she’ll be back.
“I want to keep building stuff,” she said.
All Biz Releases Stories
