Did you know that only 6% of workers in the construction trades are women? We can do better. You can help.
During the recent renovation of our building, we’re proud that we had twice that number: 12 percent of the construction workforce were women. We talked with <a href="https://skillscentre.ca/resources/news/view/drywall-is-the-right-trade-for-women" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jackie</a>, a drywaller, and <a href="https://skillscentre.ca/resources/news/view/no-shock-to-find-women-electricians-a-rarity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stephanie</a>, an electrician, to hear their stories about working in the trades.
Spoiler alert: they loved it!
Which brings us to IFIT—Inclusive Futures in Industry and Trades. We’re asking women who are interested in a trade to join us for a day of job shadowing in small groups, learning about the trade and providing feedback on the experience.
“IFIT is not a training program. We want your feedback to support changes in workplace policies that will make it easier for women to succeed in the trades. It is about gender equity and creating diverse and psychologically safe workplaces,” explains Zoë Dowdall, our project specialist for IFIT.
<blockquote>IFIT is designed to provide trades and industrial employers with feedback from female high school students, women living with low income and gender diverse individuals who are interested in working in these sectors but face barriers to employment.</blockquote>
“We want to help employers get a better understanding of the internal and external barriers to participation in their workplace, and help them take steps to mitigate those barriers through changes to their policies, practices and work environment,” Zoë says.
Try on a few different trades
Zoë hopes that participants in IFIT will complete a few days of job shadowing to get an inside look at a few different trades and industrial jobs.
Following the participants’ job shadow, the Skills Centre will work with the employers to develop a plan to implement or integrate the recommended changes from the feedback.
“That’s where our participants in IFIT will make a difference. They will learn about a trade, and at the same time they’ll share their experiences to help local trades and industry employers break down barriers in the workplace.”
<blockquote>Are you interested in a trades and industry job, but not sure if it&#8217;s right for you? If you&#8217;re a young woman in grades 10-12, a woman living with low income, or a gender diverse individual, we encourage you to join the IFIT program.</blockquote>
Participants will be paid to attend job shadow placements, and transportation support and refreshments are included. IFIT is available in Nelson, Castlegar and Trail and outlying areas.
<a href="mailto:zdowdall@skillscentre.ca">Contact Zoë</a> for more information on how to secure your spot! Job shadow dates coming soon!

Helping women find their place in the trades

Sara is brand new to our board of directors and still fairly new to the Trail area. We’re thrilled to have them join us!
Sara has been working with youth and people with disabilities throughout their career, and they bring a great new perspective to our team.
“My first job at age 16 was as a respite care provider for families who have children with disabilities. During my youth, I also volunteered at local camps, weekend activities, in various classrooms and around the community assisting people with disabilities,” Sara says. “I completed my high school graduation project on physical therapy in a special education classroom.”
“My early work experience and volunteering helped me to realize my passion for working with and helping youth.”
Sara completed a degree in criminal justice and worked with youth corrections and community based programs, helping young people in juvenile custody centers as a counselor and in the courts. After finishing their master’s degree in management and leadership, Sara has worked as a career coach and admissions counselor for college students.
Connecting locally
Locally, Sara has volunteered with Camp Koolaree and now sits on the board of the Skills Centre.
“My passion throughout my life has been in helping others to find their way, and add meaning and stability into their life,” Sara says.
“That is part of the reason I want to be involved with the Skills Centre. My most recent experience as a career coach helped me realize the impact I can have by helping others to have the resources they need to reach their goals in life.”
As someone new to the Trail community, Sara wanted to find a place to volunteer where they could lend their passions and experience and make a difference, while meeting people in the community along the way.
“I grew up in a large city and honestly never saw myself living in a small town. Being in a rural area is new to me. I personally thought big cities had all the advantages because of the large population, sheer number of businesses, infrastructure, keeping personal lives and business (almost) always separate,” Sara says.
“However, I have learned that there are unique advantages to being rural.”
They note that in large cities there is often a feeling of disconnect between the work people do and the community they live in. Since moving to Trail, Sara has noticed people have a strong sense of connectedness and love for where they are.
“I believe in the power of human collaboration.”
“It appears to me that people who live and work in rural areas stay because they truly love the community they have helped to build. Rural communities are strong because of their smaller size. Everyone has some kind of connection to everyone else, and the community has been built for and by the people who are here,” Sara explains.
“I truly believe that when people get together, so many more ideas are generated that more accurately represent the community as a whole, than any one person can accomplish on their own. Exchanging ideas and working together on shared goals while learning from past experiences is a great way to help each other.”

Meet Sara Cameron, one of our new board members

Two local working groups are making a difference in ending working poverty in Trail, and you can be a part of the solution. Both the Ending Working Poverty Leadership Table and the Lived Experience Advisory Group are looking for new members.
The two groups have been working since January 2023 with Heather Glenn-Dergousoff, the poverty reduction project specialist at the Skills Centre, on a three-year poverty reduction project.
“The leadership table is for anyone who wants to make a difference around working poverty in our community. Working poverty is defined as people who are working either full or part time yet still not earning enough money to keep their heads above water,” Heather says.
Participants at the leadership table come from all walks of life and income levels. They simply have to live or work in Trail. If participants are currently living in working poverty conditions, they will receive an honorarium for every meeting that they attend.
“We need a total of three hours a month commitment from participants,” Heather says. The leadership table meets in person for 1.5 hours each month, and there is another 1.5 hours of other work participants do on their own. They should also be willing to commit to the leadership table for one year.
The Lived Experience Advisory Group is made up of people currently living in working poverty. Participants meet individually with Heather and again receive an honorarium for each meeting. The time commitment is only about six hours a year, and participants can live anywhere in the Lower Columbia region.
“The advisory group acts as consultants to give their perspective on local programs, projects and service delivery. As an example, the advisory group had the idea for a food security initiative that became our garden box project. They took the idea to the leadership table, it was approved, and the Skills Centre launched the project earlier this year very successfully.”
Similarly, the leadership table initiated local engagement work for the Ending Working Poverty project to bring to the City of Trail for their new community plan update. The Lived Experience Advisory Group attended the engagement sessions, contributed their voice to the discussion, and the leadership table included that input in their submission to the City of Trail.
People interested in learning more about these two working committees should contact Heather at 250-368-6360 ext 235 or <a href="mailto:hglenn-dergousoff@skillscentre.ca">hglenn-dergousoff@skillscentre.ca</a>.

Local opportunities to help end working poverty in Trail

Edward takes great care of our new building as our maintenance custodian and the newest member of our team.
“I like doing maintenance and repair work,” he says.
Edward and his wife and two children immigrated to Canada in November 2023 from the Philippines. This fulfilled a family dream even though they had never visited Canada before. “It takes a lot of courage to do that,” he says with modest understatement. It started as his wife’s dream and became the family dream, he explains. She already spoke English, while he has been learning English only since they arrived in Canada. (He’s doing great!)
“Life in the Philippines is very difficult,” Edward says, and adds that they have found a good Filipino community here in the Kootenays.
He has experience in solar assembly manufacturing, semi-conductor manufacturing, and hydraulic and pneumatic training in the Philippines where most of his work was in manufacturing and maintenance. He also has a diploma in computer engineering technology. We think he’s a great fit for our new, state of the art facility and are thrilled to have him join our team!

Meet Edward, our new maintenance pro 

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Emily

summer student

Emily is joining us for the summer as an office assistant during what will be a busy summer as we move into our new building. (We now have two Emily&#8217;s on staff just to create confusion.)
She just finished her first year at Selkirk College in Castlegar in the Rural Pre-Medicine Program. She applied for early entrance and received both an early entrance scholarship and an associate physician’s award. Rural Pre-Medicine is a three year program, after which Emily hopes to attend medical or pharmacy school. Born and raised in Trail, she has always wanted to go into a medical profession.
“It’s a great program. It has set me up with a lot of volunteering opportunities as well, such as volunteering for the stem cell registry,” she says. “I’ve always valued helping people out. I want to be able to be that person who can help someone.”
When we’re not keeping her busy in the office, Emily plans to be out enjoying the summer.
“I love the summer and being outside, and I really enjoy going for walks and hikes with my dog.”

Meet our newest Emily

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Meet Sara Cameron, one of our new board members

Local opportunities to help end working poverty in Trail

Meet Edward, our new maintenance pro