During March, International Women’s Month, we will be highlighting female students who are studying a trade at the Career and Technical Institute. The demand for these skilled, reliable, high paying jobs is high and expected to increase.
“We prioritize building a more diverse workforce,” said Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trade Union. “This includes our full support of gender equality today. There is no gender wage gap in the building trades. When you work under a building trades’ collective bargaining agreement, everyone gets paid equally no matter their gender.”
Veronica Howard, a senior from Arlington High School is currently the only female student in the senior Construction Trades program. She chose the BOCES program after taking a construction class early in high school. What she likes most about the Construction Trades class is that students can build anything they want.
“We get to build different things and make our own plans, plus we have all the materials and tools we need” she said.
Her advice to young women considering the CTI program is “If you are worried about being the only female in the class don’t be. It doesn’t matter because students all want the same outcome”.
After graduation, Veronica plans to work in the field to gain a little more experience before opening her own business building furniture.
Spencer Flanagan, a senior from the Red Hook Central School District, was introduced to cars at the age of five by her uncle who is a mechanic. She has loved cars ever since, so it was no surprise when she enrolled in CTI’s Automotive Technology program last year.
“My favorite thing about it is I get to get my hands dirty,” Spencer said. “Once I walked in, I felt like I belonged here,” she added.
Initially being the only female student was difficult, but she is not afraid of hard work and quickly proved herself. Although she was used to working on her own, at BOCES she discovered teamwork makes the job easier. She finds the structure of the course gives students valuable hands-on experience.
“The instructor is amazing,” she explained. “He makes sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to and runs the class as if it was a regular repair shop”.
In the fall, Spencer will attend Columbia-Green Community College and train to become a mechanic for Subaru. Eventually she plans to open her own shop and give opportunities to other female mechanics.