Winnipeg students get crash course in trades

The Manitoba Construction Association is unlocking the tool kit for girls to explore careers in trades.

The Winnipeg Construction Association gave young girls a glimpse at what a career in the trades would look like.

More than 90 girls in Grades 5 and 6 visited the association’s education centre on Thursday for the Unlocking the Toolkit event, and got a hands-on experience in different construction jobs.

“The goal of Unlocking the Toolkit is really to showcase the women in the industry and who’s behind the work of the trade and also get the young girls interested at a young age so that they know that it’s a viable option for careers later on in their life,” said Alyssa Malinchak, chair of Manitoba Women in Construction, who helped run the event.

Throughout the morning, the girls were able to try out carpentry, bricklaying, welding, plumbing, and some virtual reality options.

Vida Sampson, a Grade 5 student attending the event, said it was fun for her to try equipment she’d never used before.

Samantha Lewis, a Red Seal carpenter, has been running a carpentry demonstration at the event for six years. She said it’s important to her to help mentor the next generation of tradespeople.

“When I got in the industry, I really wanted to show young girls that it is an option because I didn’t really have that exposed to me in school,” she said.

For Malinchak, seeing the girls pick up the tools, some for the first time, is one of her favourite sights.

“Many of them have never been exposed to this or might not do it at home or might not have families in the trades,” she said. “So bringing them together and giving them that opportunity is really special.”

Malinchak said the number of women entering construction or the trades has started to grow, but it’s still a long way from parity with men.

“Showing the young girls all the different options that they may have and they may have never been exposed to is hopefully going to grow that for the next generation,” she said.

-With files from CTV’s Scott Andersson