Totally Trades event introduces girls to nontraditional career paths

Former NMCC building construction technology student Gail Thibault (right), of Lane Construction, helps Presque Isle High School student Kiara Commodore build a toolbox during the Totally Trades carpentry workshop at Northern Maine Community College on April 25. (Melissa Lizotte)

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Thanks to a statewide program aimed at introducing trade and technical occupations to female students, many girls in Aroostook County recently participated in a hands-on conference and learned more about careers they might not have considered before.

Nearly 140 middle and high school students from across The County gathered at Northern Maine Community College on Wednesday, April 25, for the 15th annual Totally Trades conference. Hosted by New Ventures Maine, the daylong event allowed girls to participate in two workshops and choose from a variety of trade and technical fields such as carpentry, welding, plumbing and heating, auto collision repair, computer and networking technology, heavy equipment operation and firefighting.

NMCC instructors and women professionals from the different fields led students through short projects in which they tested their skills and gained greater insight into what it takes to succeed in those careers.

“I think a lot of times girls don’t express interest in trade and technical careers because they haven’t seen many other women working in those fields,” said Suzanne Senechal-Jandreau, regional manager for New Ventures Maine’s central Aroostook office. “Totally Trades gives them a chance to spend time with other girls who have the same interests and meet women who are working in the trades.”

Elizabeth McCrum, an eighth grader from Presque Isle Middle School, attended a welding workshop during the morning session and enjoyed the opportunity to learn from NMCC students.

During the welding workshop, students received an introduction to plasma cutting and hand cut their names from a sheet of steel to take home with them. They then got to try gas metal arc welding and run short beads on carbon steel.

“I like that we actually got to try welding ourselves,” McCrum said, before the afternoon session of the conference. “This is my first time at the conference. I’m interested in a trades career and the workshop made me enjoy that type of work even more.”

Other workshop projects had girls, among other things, building a tool box in carpentry, sitting inside a big rig from NMCC’s commercial driving program, building electrical circuits in automotive technology and learning airbrush techniques in auto collision repair.

Presque Isle High School junior Natasha Lizotte also wants to pursue a trade or technical career. Although she is unsure of what path she will take, Lizotte appreciated the hands-on experiences of the morning plumbing and heating workshop and looked forward to trying heavy equipment operation in the afternoon.

“I’ve attended Totally Trades every year since eighth grade,” Lizotte said. “It has taught me about different career paths that I never would have thought about otherwise. If students are considering Totally Trades next year, I would say just do it.”

Senechal-Jandreau added that Totally Trades has marked the beginning of successful careers for many students who have gone on to pursue trade and technical careers after high school. With the need for employees in those fields alive and well in Aroostook County, she believes that the conference is doing its part to raise the next generation of workers and increase students’ skill sets.

“We have heard employers say that they’re concerned about their workforce and keeping students in Aroostook County,” Senechal-Jandreau said. “We want female students to open their minds to the opportunities here and not let gender play a role in their decision-making process.”