Georgian College and Skills Ontario hosted a free skilled trades and technology information event for girls in grades 7 to 9 at the Barrie campus on Saturday.
Participants got the chance to explore hands-on activities, hear from speakers, and discover career opportunities in skilled trades and technologies.
The young attendees listened to women who are well established in a wide range of trades, including a Hydro One technician, a welder, an electrical journeyperson, an HVAC mechanic and a gas fitter, as they told stories of their personal career journeys.
“This event is important because I think it’s better at a young age to start introducing the skilled trades as career options for young women … and we’re not doing enough,” Brandi Ferenc, a refrigeration mechanic and gas fitter, said at the event.
“What I love about this event is that we give them a hands-on activity, so we get to put the tools in their hands, and they’re going to make something today and they get to bring it home with them, which all of us hope is going to spark that interest that there is something else out there for them that they may want to do later in life,” she added.
The welding blowtorches on display caught the eye of one participant at the event, who learned a lot about the career opportunities for women in trades.
“It’s interesting to see all the different stuff and all the different jobs that you can do,” said Natalia Mask, 13.
Meanwhile, Wealth Abebeji, 12, came away from the event with a copper pipe candle holder she soldered together with the guidance of a professional.
“I like how they talked a lot about everything,” she said of the speaking portion of the day, adding the question-and-answer session was her favourite part of the event.
“I learned that there’s more jobs than you really think there is. I might be an architect or a teacher,” she added.
