PRESQUE ISLE — New Ventures Maine (formerly Women, Work and Community) is offering a hands-on, daylong event designed to encourage girls to consider careers in fields traditionally dominated by men.
The Totally Trades Conference will bring together over 100 participants from schools throughout Aroostook County on Wednesday, April 27, on the Northern Maine Community College campus.
The event will feature sessions ranging from carpentry and cable technology to heavy equipment operation and welding, all providing an opportunity for the students to experience some aspect of the profession through a practical exercise.
Conference registration will begin at 9 a.m. in the Edmunds Conference Center. Following an official welcome, participants will break into the first of two sessions focusing on a specific career. A fashion show featuring students wearing nontraditional work attire will wrap up the day.
“Totally Trades offers hands-on workshop experiences in non-traditional careers for females — careers historically filled more predominantly by males — to girls throughout Aroostook County,” said Suzanne Senechal-Jandreau, conference planner and regional manager of the Central Aroostook office of New Ventures Maine, a statewide organization committed to helping Maine people succeed in their workplace, business, and community.
“Totally Trades provides an opportunity for female students to explore careers they may have not considered for themselves. We want attendees to open their thinking and remove the potential barrier of gender, when considering careers,” Senechal-Jandreau said.
The conference is a free, one-day event for Aroostook County girls in grades 8-12. Funding is made possible through monies and in-kind services provided by the Maine Department of Transportation, Maine Department of Education/CTE, K-PEL Industrial Services, MMG Insurance Co. and Sarah McLean Counseling, as well as other local sponsors.
The conference is generously supported by the NMCC campus community, which serves as the host site for the event, and is a featured activity during the college’s recognition of April as Community College Month.
“NMCC has been very pleased to partner with this important project for more than 10 years,” said Lori Smith, student support specialist at NMCC. “Technical skills and programs have always been the core of the college, long before our mission evolved into providing transfer programs leading to four-year degrees along with traditional career training.
“The Totally Trades event mirrors our work to demonstrate that the educational and career options we offer are for all students, regardless of gender,” Smith added.
For more information, visit www.totallytradesmaine.org or contact Senechal-Jandreau at 768-9635.
