A local “Lunch and Learn” at the Alma City Club in Moncton, N.B., broached an important topic Thursday as it looked at ways to build up New Brunswick’s skilled trades sector with the help of women.
“We’re trending about four per cent women in skilled trades,” said guest speaker, Arlene Dunn, the CEO of the Saint John Construction Association.
The room was filled with both men and women, including 17-year-old Catherine Pauline, who is planning to go into carpentry in her future.
She says she wanted to build more connections since it’s harder to get into the industry as a woman, but says she left the event feeling hopeful and confident in her future.
“I applied at CCNB not too long ago, so I’m going in September for sure,” she said.
“I was kind of thinking to maybe start my own business in carpentry, but that would be like way down the line.”
Out of her friend group, she says she only has one female friend who is possibly thinking about the same career path.
“I do really like artistic stuff, so I’m definitely going into carpentry for a little bit and then after that I might go into interior finishing, stuff with the walls and all that,” she said.
The goal of Thursday’s event was to start the conversation on attracting more youth, like Pauline.
During her presentation, Dunn pointed to four main barriers including cultural and society norms and an unwelcoming work environment.
However, she says the perception of the job isn’t necessarily an accurate picture.
“When we look at skilled trades and construction specifically, we think about the heavy lifting, we think about the cold, we think about all the elements that are not really that attractive,” she said.
“But go talk to a female construction tradesman on a job site. They’re very proud of what they do, they’re very proud of what they’re building, what they’re repairing and to me that’s really where the opportunity lies.”
“Let’s start focusing on some of that aspect of it.”
Dunn says she personally faced those barriers when she got into the industry a number of years ago, and while a lot has improved, there is still work to be done in order to really attract women and underrepresented groups.
She also pointed out that New Brunswick’s work force doesn’t just need more women. She says finding a way to attract youth who might need some extra guidance and support could be a way to help the skilled trades industry thrive.
“We have an opportunity right now within the province of New Brunswick because we’re looking at spending major capital investment in construction,” she said.
“Now we have an opportunity to say to young people and people who want to get involved in this industry, we’re looking at probably 10 years of work ahead of us, now is the time to jump in and we can change those stats.”
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