Female athletes kick into formerly underrepresented trades

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Hailey Burghart, who is studying to become an electrician, plays on the women’s soccer team.

When she tells people she’s enrolled at Assiniboine Community College to become an electrician, Hailey Burghart has received some interested looks.

“I have to laugh at everyone’s expressions,” said the 17-year-old student-athlete, while standing in the Len Evans Centre for Trades and Technology at Assiniboine’s North Hill campus. “Their surprised look is usually followed by a ‘congrats’ that I’m in a trade, which is nice, but I always laugh at the expressions I get.”

Burghart, who plays on Assiniboine’s women’s soccer team, is part of a growing contingent of women who are finding homes in trade programs at Assiniboine.

On the pitch, the Swan River native plays defence for the Cougars. While her sport of choice frowns upon the use of your hands to play the ball, it’s the opposite in the classroom.

“I love the hands-on work of being an electrician,” she said. “I really got a feel for becoming an electrician in high school and it’s something that always interested me. Plus, I enjoy math so it’s a good fit … the teachers really know what they are doing and are easy to get along with, which makes it fun.”

Hailey Burghart, who is studying to become an electrician, plays on the women’s soccer team.

Her instructor, Dave Newman, said Burghart made an immediate impression on him with her work ethic and knowledge of the industry.

“She’s one of my best students,” Newman said, while showing off some of Burghart’s projects at her work station.

When Newman first started teaching at the college 15 years ago, he said it was almost unheard of to have a woman in the program. Slowly that began to change, and today he said every class he teaches has at least a couple of female students.

It’s a demographic shift that’s been replicated in Jim McGhie’s welding class.

“Half,” McGhie answered when asked how many of his students are women. “It’s incredible.”

McGhie, who started teaching at the college 11 years ago, said there were typically one or two female students in each class at the beginning of his tenure. To see that grow to a 50-50 split is something he credits to changing societal attitudes.

“Times have changed,” said McGhie, who teaches Burghart’s teammate, Cora McKay, in Assiniboine’s welding program. “Women are coming to the program with more hands-on experience … they come here and they’re eager and ambitious to learn, which is great.”

McKay, who is from Winnipeg, credits her brother—a welder at Holland LP—as the reason she decided to learn a trade and enrolled in McGhie’s class at Assiniboine.

Cora, a welding student

“My brother was definitely my inspiration,” she said with her welding helmet tilted up and holding an unlit torch in her hand. “If he can do it then I definitely can. I had a little bit of trepidation at first, but it was encouraging to learn once we got started that half the class was made up of women.”

Burghart’s and McKay’s decisions to study at Assiniboine come at an opportune time, as tradespeople are in high demand in Manitoba and throughout Canada. Over the next eight years, more than 700,000 tradespeople are expected to retire, according to research from the federal government, creating further demand for skilled workers.

In Manitoba, it’s expected that 141,700 jobs will open up between 2021 and 2025 with only 112,100 new workers joining the labour force during the same period. This will leave many positions unfilled, according to the province’s Labour Market Outlook.

“Job openings in trades, transport and equipment operator occupations are estimated at 27,500 or 19.4 per cent,” the report states.

It’s those opportunities, which exist for welders across several industries, that McKay credits as the reason she wants to earn her Red Seal.

“There is so much to learn and gain experience in,” she said, adding that her teachers have been extremely helpful and her friends and family have been supportive. “The fact that you can create something out of nothing with just a few tools is something I find really rewarding.”

Both McKay and Burghart said balancing their classroom responsibilities while playing a sport at the collegiate level has its challenges. Road trips for out-of-town games often mean homework needs to be done on the bus, and time management is crucial for student-athletes. It’s also something they wouldn’t change.

“My teammates are the best part about playing for the Cougars,” Burghart said with a smile. “Everyone has been so friendly that it makes it a lot of fun to play together. The coaches are also a great part of the team because they help you fix your mistakes and become a better player.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by McKay, who credits the team’s camaraderie as the best part about being a Cougar.

“It’s certainly not easy to do both school and play a sport but I’ve been able to balance it to the best of my ability,” McKay said, “And being able to play the sport that I love again at a high level is awesome. I’ve met so many new friends and I wouldn’t give it up for the world.”