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Brenda has worked as an Industrial Mechanic Millwright at General Motors in Oshawa for close to seventeen years. Her first job was in Production, where few women worked at that time. When she was laid off from the production line due to company restructuring, some tradespeople suggested that she consider going into the skilled trades. In 1986, Brenda asked the company what she needed to get into the Industrial Maintenance Mechanic trade, which was later combined with Industrial Mechanic Millwright. She took all the courses recommended, including night-school classes and a 48 week course (3 or 4 days a week) at Durham College, that touched on all aspects of the trade. She did a pre-apprenticeship course, where she went to class one day a week from 10:00 to 3:00 and worked the 6:30 to 2:30 shift. In 1989, she started her four and a half-year apprenticeship with General Motors. She was one woman out of 22 machine repair apprentices. Not yet fully confident in her mechanical abilities, she took part-time nursing courses at Sir Sanford Fleming in Peterborough while doing her apprenticeship. Brenda works five days a week and any overtime possible. She works rotating shifts, with each shift continuing for 10 weeks. She doesn't like day shift, 6:30 to 2:30 (too early); she loves the afternoon shift, 2:30 to 10:30; and she doesn't mind the midnight shift. She works in the Power Tools 'crib' - an enclosed area where she fixes electrical tools and air and pulse tools. Her workday is steadily busy, especially in the mornings and after each shift. On weekends, she works on different areas of the floor changing pallets or doing maintenance on chains, conveyors, lifts, and robots. She works with computer software only to enter work orders, to report that the tools meet ISO standards, to do inventory and to sign up for overtime. Working in the 'crib' is comfortable, but work on the floor and in the body shop can be dirty, heavy, hot and cramped. The atmosphere is noisy with the air exchange unit, air tools and conveyors, and dirty, and humid with the heat from the robots, welding, the density of equipment, galvanized dust and metal and air oil for the air tools. Brenda wears latex gloves when working in the 'crib', and Kevlar or leather gloves when working in the body shop. She has to guard against finger or toe amputation, shocks, chemicals and oils. She has to be careful how she lifts, bends and handles tools. She wears coveralls, safety boots, glasses and gloves, and, depending on the tasks, a hard hat or a miniature hard hat called a bump cap. When working on a ladder above 10 feet or on a man lift, she has to wear a safety harness. In spite of this, her job satisfaction has soared over the years as she has taken advantage of General Motors' excellent training program, and gained more benefits. Her wages started at $11 per hour on production and increased to $24 per hour when she began her apprenticeship. An Industrial Mechanic Millwright can earn from $14.41 to $35.74 per hour, excluding overtime. Brenda's greatest satisfaction comes from knowing that she can do a first-class job, and that something works after she has laboured on it. A major challenge during her apprenticeship training was the maths. If she had known in advance, she would have upgraded in that area. Another challenge, both during her apprenticeship and as a tradesperson, has been her negative treatment from some male workers, even though she wouldn't have got into her trade without scoring highly on the company's points system aptitude test. Women are still breaking into this trade, and Brenda is very visible as the only woman currently doing machine repair work at General Motors in Oshawa. Over the years, she has gained a great wisdom for counteracting disapproving comments. She uses preferential hearing, remembering where such comments come from. Her approach is low-key and educational. She tries to keep it as easy as possible for the next woman to follow her. At the other end of the scale, she has to contend with the workers who try to save her from doing anything strenuous. She insists on doing the work herself because it is her job and she knows she can always ask for help if she needs it. The advice that Brenda offers anyone interested in this trade is: "Keep a maths and science focus in high school. Take welding, pipefitting, physics courses, and upgrade in maths as high as possible. It is extremely important to study blueprint reading if you don't want to struggle with the schematics. A pre-apprenticeship course will give you a needed edge over another applicant, and will introduce you to the machinery, electrical, welding, mechanics, blueprints, schematics. It will give you hands-on experience testing robots, and practice doing scenarios, and maths. As well as marks, you need aptitude to understand problems and to learn new and constantly changing technology. Do your job to the best of your ability. Don't be afraid to ask your co-workers questions; it's a trade off; you can help them too. Don't be afraid of the machines. Keep in shape." Brenda works with equipment much bigger than herself. "Persevere - both as an apprentice and as a job-seeker. Keep up with the processes on the job. You will never know your trade fully." Brenda cross trained, doing a little of everything, for example, crib work, body shop, hardware, and stamping plants. "Know what you are getting into. It will take a long time to fully change negative attitudes. You have to be able to speak your mind and keep situations in context." While female interest in the trades in general seems to be growing at General Motors, Brenda is confident that there will always be a need for machinery maintenance. The electrical-mechanical combination is good area of study for the future. (European tradespeople are proficient in both.) With 30 years of service at General Motors, Brenda will be able to retire on a full pension when she is 50 years old. She plans to take blacksmithing or ferrier (horse pedicure) courses. Blacksmithing, metallurgy and welding are part of her trade, and she already takes care of her 2400-pound Belgium and Percheron horses on her home farm. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
®1999 DURHAM REGION LOCAL TRAINING BOARD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
