Electrician
Then life changed dramatically and she found herself a single mother with four dependent children, with no new work prospects in sight. Having developed friendships with some of her regular customers, Angie confided her situation to one of them. Little did she know how that one conversation would change her life.
Remarkably, this customer, an electrician, was looking to hire a helper and offered her the job. It took some convincing but she decided to give it a try and it didn't take her long to realize this was a career path she'd enjoy. She knew it was also a career that would provide the steady income she needed. After working as his assistant for nine months, Angie joined a union and began an apprenticeship program to become an electrician, herself.
Now in her fifth and final term of the program, Angie has completed all three levels of in-school training - basic, intermediate and advanced - and is now completing the on-the-job hours required to complete her apprenticeship. Of the 9,000 hours required, she has just 900 to go. She does this work with Black and MacDonald, a large, Canadian contracting company. In her location there are currently three other electrician apprentices, all of whom are men.
With a few solid years in the electrical trade under her belt, Angie is used to working in the male-dominated environment. Because she's encountered so few women electricians, she admits she often thinks of herself as one of the pioneers in the field. There are signs of change, though. When she joined her union hall, there were only two or three women. Now there are seven. Comments Angie, "There is definitely a lack of women in the trades and we as a community have to change that. We've got to get away from stereotypes because there is a huge income potential in this field."
Still, even after working in the field for a few years, Angie feels she has to keep proving to men that she belongs on the job. At one site, a co-worker objected to the foreman allowing her to slide underneath a machine to fix its electrical wiring because the machine was located in a particularly dirty area and he didn't think it appropriate for her to do that kind of dirty work. Others have often been surprised to see her do some of the more heavy lifting, like carrying 3"conduit, a tube or duct for enclosing electric wires or cable, which can be very heavy. When they offer to do the lifting for her, she now responds with her standard reply, saying, "If you lift that for me now, how will I be able to do it when you're not here?" She's had to learn how to insist on doing all the work she can physically do.
Most of the men she's worked with have been very supportive and accept her for her ability to do the job. It's really just a few who don't want to see her get hurt who question why she's carrying something. Angie appreciates the concern but just wants to do her job like anyone else. Says Angie, "Let me earn my living. I've trained for this, I'm capable and I like working hard. I'm not trying to be a man - I'm just trying to be me."
Angie does work hard with her 10-hour shift starting early at 5:30am. A typical day begins with a meeting with the foreman where she receives her assignment and finds out who her partner is. (By law, electrical apprentices can't work alone). Then she and her partner make sure they have all the right tools and review the assignment, which can be anything from a wire pull or conduit run to installing lights or fixing electrical boxes. The rest of the day is spent working to complete her assignment on schedule, stopping only for her two breaks and a lunch. In order to maintain a safe working environment, cleaning up has to be done before leaving.
Conduit can be heavy and squeezing into cramped spaces to fix wiring does get you dirty, but for Angie, it's worth it. As she puts it, "I work four days a week and don't have to concern myself with my appearance the way I would for another job, other than to make sure I dress appropriately for my day. I get to work with my hands and my brain, and best of all, I get to spend my day accomplishing things I didn't know I could ever do."
Angie is looking forward to completing the final portion of her apprenticeship and receiving her licence (sometimes called a ticket). Comments Angie, "After I'm done, I feel I'll have so many options open to me." What she knows for certain is that she wants to become a journeyperson. She is also considering eventually becoming a teacher and passing on what she's learned to others. In the immediate future, however, "my main goal is to be a viable, respected electrician who is hired because I'm good at it, not because I'm filling a quota."
