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As Ontario continues to see a shortage of women in skilled trades, Lakehead Public Schools hopes more of its students will choose that career path following a special event held on Labor Day. International Women.
A group of female students from Superior CVI visited the Carpenters Union Local 1669 hall on Capital Road on Wednesday, where they got some hands-on experience building wooden tool boxes.
After that, the students visited Confederation College’s Aviation Center at the city’s airport, to learn about businesses in the aviation sector, Alana Carli, special education assistant at Superior CVI.
“We choose these students from either their guidance counselors, or recommendations from teachers,” Carli said, adding the day was important because of the lack of women in the businesses.
It is important, he said, to let students “discover opportunities that may not have presented themselves in their path.”
Grade 12 student Hunter Zerabny said he already has an interest in woodworking and carpentry.
“I got through the last two years of high school,” he said, adding that he plans to continue working in the field after graduation.
Brooklyn Barnard, another 12th grader, said she, too, has an interest in the businesses.
“I’ve taken any kind of technical education for businesses since seventh grade,” he said. “This is just a cool opportunity.”
“It makes me feel strong,” Barnard said. “Many women do not do business, because they are afraid, or think they cannot do it, but they can.”
Zerabny said his teachers have encouraged him to work in carpentry as a career after high school.
His favorite part, he said, is the opportunity to turn his own ideas into finished products.
“I built a table and chair set, a beach chair, and also a cutting board,” he said. “I mostly wrote them for my grandmother.”
“My grandma loves everything, she has them all out in her house, and I’m planning to do more projects for her.”