Saskatoon trades course equipping women for work in male-dominated industry

A new course in Saskatoon is putting mining equipment into the hands of women to give them the confidence and skill set to successfully pursue employment in fields traditionally dominated by men.

Women Building Futures, an Edmonton-based non-profit organization, is putting on the course in collaboration with BHP to teach and give women the hands-on experience they need for a long-term career in the mining industry.

Becky Taman is a former massage therapist who’s currently enrolled in the nine-week course.

“This is  a change of career for me, so to come back and sit down … and spend hours sitting in the classroom when I’m used to being mobile and doing things and working with people, it’s been very different,” she said.

But it’s not out of her element.

“I like working with my hands, I always have,” Taman explained. “I’ve always been the girl with the tools in her hands, whether I’m working on cars or helping build things in the yard.”

It’s the lack of stability in being a massage therapist that pushed Taman to look at other options to support herself and her family.

Taman came across a post on Facebook and started looking into it as well as Women Building Futures. She decided to take a few classes with the organization.

“The amount of support and the amount of help I got during just those two little courses definitely showed me that this is the right path. This was where I needed to be and this was where I wanted to be,” she shared.

The course covers safety certification, best practices and interview and resume workshops to prepare women to enter the industry. Then, women in the course will learn trades like electrical instrumentation, heavy equipment operation and industrial millwrighting.

Finally, through the partnership with BHP, the women will have the opportunity to work their way up through apprenticeship to achieve certification in trades of their choice — ideally at the new BHP Jansen Mine set to open in Saskatchewan in 2026.

However, the course could also serve as a jumping-off point for women interested in further specializing in certain trades through other courses after they complete the initial program.

Natasha Martynes, manager of external relations for WBF, said the aim of the organization is to foster women into economic security through jobs that pay above minimum wage.

That’s what brought Martynes herself to a similar course being run in Alberta.

“I know personally that this is a doable path for women to not only meet their basic needs but to exceed,” Martynes said.

Knowing friends who worked in trades and the wage they made and having heard a radio ad for the course, Martynes made the decision to enrol. When she graduated from the program in 2009 she was able to get an apprenticeship and work her way up to receive her red and blue seals.

“It exceeded what I thought was possible,” she said. “This is the only way I would have stepped into this kind of career.”

The skills Martynes gained propelled her from worry about meeting the basic needs of herself and her young son to having her own business and being a real part of the community.

“It’s a lifelong blessing,” she said.

Taman’s plan is to decide on which trade best suits her after having the chance to try each. Then, she is looking ahead to applying with contractors and working up to receive her red seal — widely considered the gold standard in trades certification.

She is, of course, anticipating gender issues will arise working in a male-dominated field, but was encouraged when BHP representatives came to speak to their class and explained that every level of their company has a balance of men and women.

The secondary outcome of the partnership between WBF and BHP is seeing the workforce diversified in fields like mining.

“I believe women are very capable of doing these jobs,” Taman said.

While she said historically, women have been long told their place is not in an environment like a mine performing manual labour, she sees this opportunity as a chance to open the doors to women in workforces where they haven’t traditionally been seen.

“When women have financial prosperity, it has such an impact within communities and it is a wonderful economic impact,” Martynes said, highlighting the relationship between women making more and the effect that has on their children’s lives.

“When women are successful and able to provide for their families, it just moves mountains and it builds communities.”

Some of the women in the Women Building Futures BHP Trades Readiness program eating lunch during the course on Jan. 19, 2023. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

Taman sees the course as an open door to opportunities, like encouraging girls and other women to pursue a more non-traditional career option.

“I get to be an example for little girls who might have a set of tools and their friends are saying, ‘Well, you should be playing with Barbies.’ No, girl, you rock those tools,” she said.

It’s been exciting for her as a mom to have the support and excitement of her 22-year-old daughter backing up her decision to make a career switch too — even into a field not usually sought after by women.

Martynes said one of the biggest strengths of the course is that it’s for women only and provides the safe space needed for people to not fear making a mistake.

“Women, we do tend to … worry more about what other people are thinking,” Martynes said. “Here is a space where we can learn together, make those mistakes, correct and build the confidence needed to go into the construction industry.”

The environment is supportive — excellent for gaining confidence in a new field — and diverse, according to Martynes and Taman, with women of all ages and some who have immigrated to Canada.

“All of those different experiences have come into the classroom and it’s really, I find, made us more cohesive hearing each other’s stories,” Taman said.

For women who might be feeling stuck with where they are now, Taman has one message.

“Change is scary but if you’re interested, apply for the course …” she said. “It might be scary but that’s OK. That’s where your growth happens.”

This course is WBF’s first expansion into Saskatchewan, though Martynes said the organization is hoping to offer further opportunities to women in the province.

Another course to equip women to work in the mining industry is set to start in Lanigan on April 3. Martynes said applications for the program will be accepted until Feb. 3.

Women interested in applying or attending an information session to learn more can do so here.

The program is offered at no cost to its participants thanks to funding by BHP. The mining company also sponsors a minimum wage for women taking the course to support their living expenses while they are completing their training.