PAM'S PEN

It costs a lot to introduce women to trades and technology.
Suzanne Charlton, community development coordinator with Women in Resource Development, was in Labrador West Nov. 3 to highlight the Orientation to Trades and Technology for Women program to women interested in the trades.
The six-month program is slated to begin at the local College of the North Atlantic campus Jan. 18 - it will run until July - and will provide hands-on training in several different trades including: carpentry, welding, heavy equipment operation, electrical, electrical engineering, blueprint reading, civil engineering, millwright, and motor vehicle repair.
The course, according to Charlton, also touches on academics, personal development, exploration of the natural resource sector, essential work skills and offers two weeks of job shadowing.
While the program certainly sounds like a great fit for someone interested in the trades, and would probably help women decide what trade they want to pursue since it touches on a little bit of everything, there's a pretty hefty price tag attached to the course.
It costs $10,000 to take the program and at the end of 24 weeks women aren't certified to do anything.
The group will receive certificates in workplace hazardous management information systems and first aid, but for $10,000 there should be a lot more.
While some women have gotten employment at the end of the program, Charlton said, most go on to pursue a trade. When you compare how much it costs to enroll in a trades program at the College of the North Atlantic, it would be cheaper to do two full-time trades than to go through the orientation program once.
It's also important to note most women who sign up for the course get funding from provincial and/or federal sources, so the taxpayers are picking up the tab for a program that may or may not result in employment.
Charlton explained it takes at least 10 women to put off the Orientation to Trades and Technology for Women, and it maxes out at 15.
While she noted it's a cost recovery program - the group has to pay for instructors and provides all the equipment and gear needed to complete the program (ie: hard hats and steel toe boots) - if every single woman who takes the course secures funding, one six-month course costs taxpayers at least $150,000.
Is it worth it? While the program certainly has merit - it's wonderful to be able to provide a safe and supportive environment for women to explore the trades - should the taxpayers be paying for someone to try trades on for size?
According to Charlton, the program also talks a lot about the challenges women face in the trades and technology industry and there is a lot of discussion around problem solving, women in society and gender sensitivity training.
It's important to discuss those issues - women do face significant barriers no matter what they choose to do - but in the presentation last week, Charlton didn't inspire confidence.
She gave examples of women being thwarted in male-dominated fields - one pilot apparently told a woman qualified to fly that if women were meant to fly, the sky would be pink not blue - and she pointed out women will have to overcome those kinds of attitudes if they choose a career in the trades.
While she stressed women can do any job a man can do, she was also quick to say women are "too nice" and need to be more assertive.
To any woman considering a job in the trades, Charlton's message was more intimidating than uplifting and just saying the Orientation to Trades and Technology for Women is an excellent program isn't enough to sell it.
Ultimately whether women in Labrador West will give the course the green light is up to them - registration is going on now until January - but from the outside looking in, it isn't all it's cracked up to be.