Province needs more women in trades, says N.B. women’s equality branch

New Brunswick needs more women working in the trades sector, according to an equity group, as a significant shortage of such workers is expected in the province over the next decade.

Tammy McDonald, a program adviser with the province’s women’s equality branch, says only four per cent of women in the province are working in the trades and technology sectors.

According to McDonald, “120,000 jobs are going to be available in the next few years because of the baby boom, and this is why we need to promote this and get women to stay in New Brunswick and work in the careers that are available to them here.”

The Construction Association of New Brunswick says it will be facing a critical shortage of trades workers by 2028.

READ MORE: N.B. to face shortage of almost 3,000 trades workers by 2028 — construction association

According to the association, 7,400 skilled workers are expected to retire in the next decade and only 4,500 new entrants are projected to be available locally to fill the gap.

New Boots representative Ashley Ritchie says New Brunswick ranks the lowest among Canadian provinces in recruiting women into the trades.

She is encouraging more women to break from tradition and pursue a career in trades such as carpentry, masonry, truck driving and welding.

“We want to show other women and employers that there are women being successful in pursuing their skilled trades,” said Ritchie. “They are great at what they do and they actually make better teams with men in those environments.”

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Ritchie has been working in the trades as a Red Seal carpenter and mason since 2009.  She says women are breaking barriers and becoming more accepted on job sites in the male-dominated trades sector.

“I want them to know that there are other women who are doing it,” said Ritchie.

Emily Buck, a student at New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) Moncton studying welding, is starting up a women-in-trades support group to help female trades graduates transition into the workforce.

Buck said she has, at times, been treated as an outsider on the worksite by her male co-workers but added that attitudes are changing.

“I find that, more and more, that is changing, that girls are just part of the workforce, they are working alongside men, and it is no problem,” said Buck.

Women’s Equality held a trades and technology career fair at NBCC Moncton on Wednesday, introducing about 100 female high school students to career options in the trades.

Catherine Black, regional director for the NBCC Moncton campus, said the number of women enrolling in college trades programs in New Brunswick is on the rise.

“This year, we have approximately 7.5 per cent of our enrolments in those trades are women so it is great to see,” said Black.