Repost: Registration Is Open for the 3rd Annual Women Building the Nation Conference

The 3rd Annual Women Building the Nation Conference will be held on April 5-7 in Sacramento, CA. The event celebrates women who are leaders in the construction workplace, their communities and in their unions, is sponsored by the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department (BCTD) and the State Building & Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTC) and will be held at Sacramento’s Sheraton Grand.

The goals of the conference include:

• Recruit more women into building and construction trades
• Promote retention of women in the trades
• Develop tradeswomen’s capacity for leadership and career growth, on the job and in their unions

The three day event, which also represents the 13th year of the Women Building California gathering, will begin with a Friday meet and greet that will connect women who are leaders in their unions. On Saturday, tradeswomen, union leaders, apprenticeship coordinators, contractors, and politicians will facilitate 30 different workshop sessions aimed at helping women have continued success in their careers in the trades. Topics for the workshops will include Pre-Apprentices, Staying in & Staying Strong, Promoting Leadership, and Policy and Politics.

On Sunday, attendees will join for mind-melding caucuses set up by each trade. A National Policy Forum will be held that day as well.

Registration is done based on a tiered system that will cost the attendee $75 before February 22nd, $100 before March 31st, and $125 from April 1st, until the doors open on Friday the 5th. Members of unions affiliated with the BCTD will receive a $15 discount.

More information is available at 916-443-3302, or on the SBCTC website.

Content from Chaz Bolte at wepartypatriots.com.

Repost: Opportunities are plentiful in the trades

Metal fabricator Mila Puharich on the job.

Here in British Columbia, skilled workers are needed in numerous sectors, with opportunities to be found both here at home and farther afield.

The BC Jobs Plan 6 Month Progress Report recently noted, for example, that Seaspan Marine Corporation’s $8 billion contract to build non-combat vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy at their shipyards in North Vancouver and Esquimalt will provide long-standing jobs, directly and indirectly, for roughly 4,000 British Columbians.

Mila Puharich hopes to be part of this good news. She’s just starting her career but she’s already forging uncharted territory as the first female metal fabricator in her workplace in more than 60 years.

“I’m really truly the first woman they’ve ever seen in the steel fitting trade there. They are welders, electricians and riggers, but I’ve yet to meet another woman fitter.”

She also gets to hone her craft on all kinds of marine vehicles from boats, to ships, to submarines.

For heavy duty mechanic Taylor Paulson, inspired to follow his uncle into the trade, Camosun College’s heavy-duty mechanic certificate program gave him everything he needed to launch his new career. “The program was great. After 10 months in the classroom I was happy to start the hands-on stuff, the good stuff,” says Taylor.  “I received grants for my program, which were a nice boost early on.”

Today, Paulson is working in Tumbler Ridge, in northern B.C., supporting the province’s booming mining industry. “I make sure the mines are running smoothly: I diagnose and repair support trucks and equipment, sometimes I’ll be on-site, and other times I’ll have to do repairs at the shop. I’m proud that I work here in B.C. – it’s beautiful here, the hunting is fantastic, there’s amazing hiking, a world-class snowmobile system and fresh river fishing, too.”

For Puharich, two programs were key in connecting her as a female metal fabricator with her job: WITT or Women in Trades and STEP. WITT is geared towards helping employers in B.C. get the skilled workers they need by matching them with women who have some experience, or who want to start a career, in the trades. STEP is a no-fee employment program that works to match potential workers with employers. They assist eligible people by presenting them with opportunities for training and employment.

It’s no surprise Puharich gets excited when talking about WITT. “The WITT program is awesome. Karen McNeil at Camosun is the goddess of apprentices. She directed me to funding, grants and helped connect me to the STEP program. The support system there is like a trampoline, it just makes you go higher! STEP (then) helped get me the interview with Victoria Shipyards.”

To find out about these and other skills training programs visit https://www.workbc.ca/Education-Training/Programs/Pages/Employment-Programs.aspx.

Puharich continues with on-the-job training and additional courses, learning from mentors with the know-how to build more awesome boats, ships and yes, even submarines.

View the original article at www.sookenewsmirror.com.