Approximately 100 young female students aspiring to careers in the skilled trades had their interests verified and encouraged during a panel discussion Wednesday at the Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center – Albany Campus.
The fourth annual Capital Region BOCES Celebrates Women in the Trades event featured women speaking about their careers—including a graduate of the BOCES Career & Technical Education Center. The panelists encouraged a room full of students from seven local school interested in those careers to pursue them and help redefine society’s gender norms for those professions.
“Don’t listen to the voices in the back of your head. Don’t listen to the doubts. Get up and try something new,” said Lydia Waage, a junior in the Heavy Equipment Repair and Operation program from Cobleskill-Richmondville.
“I’ve gotten opportunities I never would have even considered before I came here. I’ve shattered glass ceilings that I once had never even dreamed I could crack,” she added.
Joining Waage on the panel were Victoria Carl, Owner, Carl’s Advanced Automotive & Truck Repair Center and a 2017 graduate of the BOCES Diesel Tech program; Jennifer Hoffman, Third-Year Apprentice in Carpenters Local 291; April Clas, Human Resources Director for Callanan Industries; and Patrisia Sheremeta, Human Resources Manager for Greno Industries.
Students taking part included LaJay York, a Welding and Metal Fabrication senior from Watervliet and Christina Mills, an Automotive Collision Technology senior from Scotia-Glenville School District.
Waage is attending BOCES largely because she attended the Women in Trades event last school as a sophomore.
“I was interested in the Heavy Equipment program before, but I had a lot of reservations about entering a male-dominated field. But after hearing [Class of 2024 graduate] Chloe Armstrong, who was one of the panelists last year, talk about her experience of making great friends with all the guys in her Welding and Metal Fabrication class, I left the event feeling a lot less anxious,” Waage said
Hoffman told the students that she initially pursued a career in medicine after high school.
“I was part of the generation that was told you had to go to college so I was a bio and pre-med student in college. … I worked in a hospital for seven years, but it wasn’t for me. Growing up, I had worked in construction with my dad and at 30 I decided it was time to do something different, something I enjoyed, so I joined the union,” the apprentice said.
Carl told the young students that she never dreamed of owning a business, but thanks to BOCES, it became her reality.
“BOCES gave me the opportunity to look into a glass ball … and see how it all works. It gave the opportunities and chances I needed and the skills to succeed,” Carl said.
The panelists said women have a special role in the skilled trades, bringing skills like time management, attention to detail and organization that their male counterparts might not necessarily have. The panelists encouraged the young women to make connections embrace their differences and pursue their passions.
“We all have different skills we bring to the table, whether its attention to detail, a willingness to listen or strength,” said Carl.
The young women who attended the event hailed from the Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Cohoes, Duanesburg, Mohonasen, Schoharie and Scotia-Glenville school districts.
They said they appreciated hearing the perspective of women about working in the skilled trades.
“It was very inspirational,” said Josivi DiCarlo, a sophomore from Duanesburg.
Fellow Duanesburg student Olivia Campbell added that the event affirmed her decision to pursue a career in welding.
“It was good to hear all of their stories and what have overcome,” she said.
The panel discussion was a key part of the month-long celebration Capital Region BOCES is hosting for Women in the Trades Month.
An untapped resource
According to Workwave, women are in demand as an untapped resource for skilled workers in trade jobs, because there is a predicted shortage of the labor force and anticipated growth in job opportunities. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment projection expects such employment to grow by 8.4 million jobs.
In the construction industry, just 10.9% of the workforce identify as women and an even smaller percentage of women–just 1%–are on the front lines of a job site, according to a 2022 article published by BizRent.com.
Many opportunities at Capital Region BOCES
Capital Region BOCES Managing Program Coordinator-Business & Community Partnerships Nancy Liddle said she takes pride in the work of the women students and graduates.
“We are proud to help such trailblazers achieve their dreams as they enter the trades in non-traditional career paths,” Liddle said.
Liddle, one of the organizers of the luncheon, said “we love encouraging young women to be trailblazers in whatever industry they are interested in.”