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At 20, Sarah has gained an impressive amount of valuable work experience as a Construction Craft Worker. About to complete her Apprentice Level 2 in September 2005, part of a two-year program offered through the Cobourg Lifelong Learning Centre, Union Local 183, Sarah will be eligible to write her final exam and receive her official Construction Craft Worker certification (sometimes referred to as a ticket). She's only just beginning to consider all the options soon to be open to her. She may go to college for something else, knowing she can find work as a Construction Craft Worker at any time. Another option, she might continue to work at the various assignments given to her by her union in order to gain more experience on the job. The skills she's gained and a salary of about $27,000, plus benefits and pension, have opened a world of opportunities for Sarah. Gaining such tangible options is why she chose this trade in the first place. The way she sees it, "After just two years in the trade, I make a good wage and I've learned a transportable skill while getting paid for it." With her ticket in hand, she will be able to travel and pick up work with other unions, set up her own company and even take advantage of the yearly winter layoffs (typically 16 weeks) to explore other trades or take courses. Sarah is used to people not being familiar with her trade. Some people think she makes crafts. Others think she frames houses. As she explains it, "Even though the title 'Construction Craft Worker' contains the word construction, a Construction Craft Worker doesn't work with wood or skill saws to frame houses but with shovels, forklifts, concrete and bricks." A Construction Craft Worker uses wood only to build scaffolding or build framing into which cement will be poured. As a Construction Craft Worker, Sarah has worked for a residential bricklayer, joined a paving crew that repaired and graded roads, and also flagged cars to either slow or stop, built scaffolding and poured concrete to build flooring. In school, she and her team even designed and built a concrete structure with circular columns and a concrete roof. Having experiences so many varied jobs within the trade, it's hard for her to decide which is her favourite. Whatever the assignment, Sarah enjoys the physical aspect of the jobs. Says Sarah, "At the end of the day it's nice to know that I've worked hard and gotten a lot of exercise." She also likes working outdoors, though it's more difficult to work in the winter when it's so cold. Nevertheless, she's certain that, "Sitting in an office all day wouldn't be for me." As valuable as the job skills she's gained on location are, the life skills she's developed are just as important. Skills like being assertive, being able to communicate effectively, attempting new tasks with confidence, and knowing how to avoid conflict are things she can apply on or off the job. It took some adjustment to work in a mostly-male environment, admits Sarah. In her most recent assignment, for example, she has been the only woman, and last year, as part of a 300-person crew, she was one of just four women. In general, she feels she has been treated well by her co-workers. In fact, she's surprised at how well most guys adapted to having her around. She had anticipated it being much harder. If there were problems on site, they were minor. It had to do with men trying to be helpful by insisting on carrying heavy objects such as stacks of bricks, and Sarah asserting herself by communicating to them the need to do it herself. Comments Sarah, "You have to be able to stand on your own and speak up about what you want." It's something she feels she's gotten better at with each assignment. Getting used to the work environment on site also took time. "You have to constantly be aware of your surroundings," says Sarah. She recalls one site where she was digging trenches for footings and there were two forklifts and a back hoe in constant motion nearby. "Being aware of your surroundings and of what other people are doing is probably the most important safety tip I can think of." Her suggestion to anyone considering becoming a CCW would be to do their research while they're in high school because there are so many resources available to them there. It's something she didn't do but wishes she had. Sarah also offers the following advice:
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