Monday, October 28, 2013

Tour Reflections - Notes from the Road


Skills Work! 2013 Young Women's Conference

As we head home from our adventure north, here's a little bit about how it went... 

Day 1
- We woke up to big, wet snow flakes, first snow of the year for us in Regina.  Perfect timing for us to hit the road for a long day of driving, remembering the weather this time last year during our tour.  I picked up Robin Stuart, a long-time SaskWITT member and plumber/ refrigeration mechanic and we began our journey north in the early morning and were greeted by more snow.  Our day ahead of driving looked grim, long and exhausting.  Thankfully we were spared and the weather cleared as we approached Saskatoon and our sinking spirits were rescued.   

Joining us on our journey from Saskatoon – Courtney Einsiedler, our fearless tour planner from Skills Canada Saskatchewan and Diane West, also a long-time SaskWITT member, carpenter, and returning role model from our northern tour last year.  Together, crammed tightly between suitcases, coolers and boxes we continued to head north.  Sometime between Big River and Buffalo Narrows we spotted a lynx running in the ditch, and shortly after a beautiful cayote as well as deer, too many to count.  The weather held up for us the entire way to Buffalo Narrows and we settled into our accommodations for the night.  All the way down from Uranium City, we were met by Denise Bougie, a long-time SaskWITT member, tour vet, and electrician. 

Day 2 - In the sleepy dark hours of early morning the five of us somehow managed to squeeze into the vehicle with boxes, bags and suitcases on our laps, and at our feet.  Apparently we were still sleeping as we headed down the dark stretch of road, completely oblivious that we were headed in the wrong direction!  Once we sorted our bearings out (thank goodness!!), we still managed to get to our destination, La Loche, in good time and soon we were all set up and ready to go for the day.  Rounding out our team of trades-women we had Farrah Lemaigre, an apprentice electrician and Mandy Herman, an apprentice baker, join us, both La Loche locals and first-time role models. 

There were 33 girls who attended the conference in La Loche, some from the community itself as well as Buffalo Narrows and Birch Narrows Dene First Nation.   The girls ranged in age from 14 to 20 year-olds.  After some introductions we jumped right into a discussion about the trades with the girls.  For many of them we were defining ‘trades’ for the first time and they were surprised to discover all of the different trades available, some of the perks to working in the trades, and that they were just as capable as men to work in the trades. 

We wasted no time and soon had the girls trying out some tools and working one-on-one with our tradeswomen in our ‘try-a-trade’ stations.  Participants are cycled through a series of stations, and at each they make a ‘project’ to take home.  This year we had a ‘tile mosaic station’, which included working with mortar and forms and tile-setting and gave the girls an intro to working with concrete and the tile-setting trade.  At the end of the day the girls each took home their own uniquely personalized stepping stone.  We also had a plumbing station where the girls learned how to cut, file, and de-burr copper pipe; an electrical station where the girls worked with electrical wire and connectors; and a sheet metal station that had the girls cutting, bending, hammering, ‘punching’, ‘stamping’, and shaping their own personalized ‘charms’ out of metal.  The last stop in our series of stations was a games station, where the value of communication and problem-solving in the trades was incorporated into the program.
Robin Stuart - Plumbing Station

Stepping Stone "Tile Mosaics"
Andrea Dorosh and Diane West - Tile Mosaic Station
Denise Bougie - Sheet Metal Station
Farrah Lemaigre - Electrical Station
Mandy Herman and Courtney Einsiedler - Games Station



































We sent the girls home with lots of brochures, information, their projects, and hopefully, inspiration!  The feedback we received from both the chaperones and girls suggested the day was a huge success, and already we were being asked when we could come back!  We all left with big smiles that evening and headed off to our next destination, Beauval.

Day 3 – Nearly the same number of girls (32) attended the conference in Beauval, this time from Beauval as well as Waterhen Lake, Canoe Lake First Nation, Pinehouse Lake, and Jans Bay.  This time we had girls ranging in age from 14 years old to 27.  The day unravelled much the same as in La Loche, we seemed to be reaching the girls and snagging their attention, so much that one of the chaperones later told us:
"I have never seen these girls so captivated ever! They really enjoyed it!"
Again, there was lots of interest in future conferences.  We left with a sense of accomplishment, and felt as though we had in fact had a positive impact on the girls.  

Beauval - Set up and ready to go!




Teams of girls with their role models

Try-A-Trade Stations in Action



Some other comments we received from participants and chaperones – 
“Great ideas came out of the stations, great information was shared. I understood everything that they had to say!”
“I learned about a few different trades that seemed interesting. I would actually look into one of these trades in the future.”
“The hands on work actually helped me understand what the trades are all about.”
“The role models were cool to talk to and very nice. It was nice to have them available for questions about the trades they work in.”
“It was awesome! It gave me more opportunities. More doors opened to me!”
“It’s nice to see apprenticeship women encouraging other women to work in the trades. It’s also nice to see we don’t have to live in a male dominated world anymore. Back home I am also a woman that likes to do male work outdoors.”
 “The hands on stations were very well attended. The girls were very involved.”
“Love the expert/student bonding at tables.”
“Superb hands on activities, girls were engaged/great info sharing by experts.”
“Very effective information!”
“Great to have this program in Northern communities, not everyone is able to attend workshops in the South.”
We said our goodbyes to some of the role models and those of us from the province’s south spent our last night in the north at Sandy Beach Resort.  We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome for the tour, not-to-mention what a difference it made to have Mother Nature on our side this year! 

Day 4 - We are lucky to spot a wolf, black in color in the ditch, a beautiful farewell from the north as we head home.  There is a sense of community and support felt not only amongst each other, but through the new connections we have made in the north, and the new friendships we have created. 

Role Models (left to right): Mandy Herman, Farrah Lemaigre, Diane West,
Robin Stewart, Andrea Dorosh and Denise Bougie
Thank you to everyone who participated in and supported this event!  I believe we have made a difference in people’s lives and the communities we have reached on this tour.

Many thanks to our sponsor’s who made this event possible:



“Life is short, live bold! Be heard, be you,
dream big, take risks,
don’t wait.”
– Misty Gibbs
Posted by: Andrea Dorosh

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