NSCC women in welding program sees first graduates

A group of 19 students have graduated from a pilot program at the Nova Scotia Community College that prepares women to build ships with skills in the welding trade. 

The Career Exploration Program in Metal Trades gives women an introduction to welding and working in a male-dominated field. 

"They say that women are better welders because we're more detail-orientated and more patient," said graduate Denise Watters.

"So we'll see what happens with the 19 of us."

The program is a partnership between NSCC, Irving Shipbuilding Inc., and Women Unlimited — a non-profit that opens doors for women in trades through training and mentorship. 

The women spent 14 weeks logging welding hours, listening to guest speakers and learning about everything from blueprints to workplace harassment. 

Watters said she heard about the program as she looked to change careers from the tourism industry. The 38-year-old was seeking a job that would provide better security for herself and her four children, and allow her to stay in Nova Scotia.

After completing the program, she now plans to enter the welding program at NSCC and hopes to work in the Irving shipyard. 

"That's where I see myself for the next 25 years, and I don't see myself leaving," she said. 

Welding working relationships

Watters says the best part of the program is learning to build things, while also forming bonds with other people in the program. 

"I'm really excited being a woman going into the trade and kind of putting our foot down for the first time and making an impact on the world. Or the men's world, I should say."

Shelley Wallace, site coordinator for Women Unlimited, helps the new recruits navigate that world.

Since 2006, the Nova Scotia organization has helped more than 400 women enter the trades.

While the new program doesn't guarantee entry into NSCC's welding program, there are designated spots set aside for women who qualify. 

"As statistics show, four per cent of women are still in trades. And it's almost the same as it was many, many years ago," Wallace said. 

Sexual harassment, bullying in the work place and understanding diversity are all lessons Wallace says she tries to teach. 

"They learn about conflict resolution and they learn how to assert themselves." 

She also teaches the value in supporting one another. 

At the graduation ceremony Friday morning, a woman who has worked at the shipyard for 14 years stopped Watters to express her pride in the new recruits, to which Watters replied with a laugh. 

"The first day I walk in there, I'm looking for a backup team. You have to keep the sisterhood. That's all we have," she said.