Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – About 90 girls from Madawaska to Hodgdon gathered April 30 at Northern Maine Community College for a hands-on, daylong workshop designed to encourage young women to consider careers in fields traditionally dominated by men.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
TOTALLY TRADES — Nearly 90 girls from Madawaska to Hodgdon gathered April 30 at Northern Maine Community College for a hands-on, daylong workshop designed to encourage young women to consider careers in fields traditionally dominated by men. This year’s Totally Trades day featured a variety of workshops ranging from plumbing and heating to electrical, metal fabrication, and heavy equipment operation. Here, girls create their own toolboxes in the carpentry workshop.
Formerly known as the TNT (Tools ‘N Trades) conference, this year’s event featured a new name.
“The new name is Totally Trades day,” said Suzanne Senechal-Jandreau, regional manager of the central Aroostook office of Women, Work and Community (WWC), a statewide organization committed to improving the economic lives of Maine women and their families.
“We want to give girls a hands-on workshop experience to spark their interest and/or raise awareness about a career field that they may not have previously considered,” she said, “as well as provide female role modes – women who can lead by example, having already succeeded in pursuing work that traditionally is viewed as ‘man’s work.’”
First launched in 2004, Totally Trades featured sessions ranging from carpentry and metal fabrication, all providing an opportunity for the girls to experience some aspect of the profession through a practical exercise.
“The jobs we’re portraying are typically careers girls don’t think about such as carpentry, welding and operating heavy equipment,” said Senechal-Jandreau. “However, some girls take vocational tracks in school, and this is a validation for them.
“There are some high wage, high opportunity careers for girls to consider,” she said. “With some of the careers we feature, on-the-job training is enough. Not everyone likes the idea of attending a four-year college, so Totally Trades day can show girls which careers might interest them without having to go for additional schooling.”
Taylor Shorey and Amanda Hebert, eighth-graders at Caribou Middle School, were among those attending the workshop.
“I heard it was going to be fun,” said Shorey. “That’s why I signed up. I attended the electronics workshop. It was interesting, but too complicated for me.”
“I thought Totally Trades was really interesting,” Hebert said. “It gave a lot of job options, and I think men and women have equal ability to do whatever they want to in life.”
Shorey said she’d like to one day work with special needs kids, while Hebert would like to be either a marine biologist or a forensic scientist.
“Even though I can’t envision myself doing some of these careers,” said Hebert, “I learned a lot by attending the conference.”
Lindsey Graves and Ashley Johnston, eighth-graders at Fort Fairfield Middle-High School, said they learned about careers they hadn’t given much thought of before.
“The heavy equipment operation was fun,” said Johnston. “I thought that was pretty cool.”
Johnston was able to sit in a piece of simulated equipment while seeing what it’s really like to run major machinery.
“It was like playing a video game,” she said. “You dig a hole and scoop the dirt up. It was fun.”
“I attended the cable technician workshop,” said Graves. “It was fun, but I’d rather work in the medical field or be a professional soccer player. My friend signed me up, and I’m glad they did.”
Jillian London, a sophomore at Hodgdon High School, also attended the heavy equipment workshop.
“It was a little intimidating being around those dump trucks, graters and plow trucks,” she said, “and getting in and out of the trucks was pretty hard. They’re pretty high up. While it’s not for me, it was good to see that women are just as capable as men doing those jobs.”
Workshops focused on plumbing and heating, carpentry, electrical, cable technician, metal fabrication, heavy equipment operation, the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials (ASHTO), and bridge construction.
WWC, NMCC, the Maine Department of Transportation, Women Unlimited, the Maine Career Center, local contractors, local school representatives, and other interested community partners comprise the Aroostook Coalition for Women and Girls in Trades and Technology (ACOWITT), the sponsors of Totally Trades. ACOWITT is one of several local coalitions, united through a statewide Women in Trades and Technology (WITT) coalition, whose focus is to raise awareness of and provide support and opportunity for women and girls who pursue or are pursuing non-traditional careers in trades and technology fields.
The free conference was for Aroostook County girls in grades 8 through 12. Funding for the activity is made possible through monies provided by Louisiana Pacific and the Maine Department of Transportation.
In addition to participating in two workshop sessions, the girls were treated to a luncheon and fashion show featuring women currently employed in non-traditional fields. A panel discussion, featuring several women working in trade and technical occupations, rounded out the day.
