Biden was hoping for a big economic story to tell. Now, it’s getting small. – POLITICS Achi-News

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Mandy Rennehan is a speaker, television host, and the founder and CEO of Freshco, a building management company focused on retail facilities.

I remember bursting through the door of my home in Yarmouth, NS, when I was 12, full of excitement about a wooden item I had made that day in shop class. My mom looked over and said, “Mandy, is this a paper towel holder?” I answered proudly: “Yes, Mum, I did it in shop class!”

The next day, the paper towel holder hung proudly on the side of our kitchen cupboards. My dad said: “Did you do that at school, sweetie?” It was like he was questioning it, perhaps wondering if a male teacher had made it and given it to me.

Every girl and boy took shop class and home economics when I was in junior high over 30 years ago, but these subjects were never considered skills for future careers. They were presented as useful life skills – something that could be an interesting hobby, perhaps, or help you get a decent meal during the week.

Looking back at how great the teachers were, and the resources that went into teaching these subjects, it baffles me how myopic the leadership and vision was in the school system around what which was synonymous with “respectable” career. No one ever mentioned the blue collar world – carpentry, plumbing, welding etc. – as a possibility.

I didn’t excel in academics, but I never forgot the passion I felt behind my first achievement in shop class. A big girl from Yarmouth, I left home at the age of 17 with a hockey bag filled with my worldly possessions, determined to find opportunities in the skilled trades.

It didn’t take me long to see that almost 100 percent of the industry is male. These men were taught these skills by an employer on a summer job, or they came from generations of migrant tradesmen and were exposed to the trade when they were young. Even 30 years ago, many of these men were getting old, and counting on their sons to take over their businesses or follow in their footsteps.

We as a country have taken for granted that these men and their sons​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ It used to work that way, but in recent decades, more families pushed their children into white-collar jobs, and the backlog for workers in the skilled trades began to shrink. Today, the country does not have nearly enough people available to work on housing, construction and infrastructure projects.

So, we have to ask: Who is going to fix all this?

The narrative that blue collar work is a secondary profession has led to massive delays and price increases in routine projects of all kinds. There are limited bidders for government infrastructure projects, leading to higher public costs and longer timelines. People wait years to find a reputable builder – if they can even find one – and you can bet it’s not a woman who shows up to provide a quote. Good luck if you want to fix your dishwasher within a week – or a month. And when was the last time you saw all the escalators working in an airport? Workers in the trades trying to meet deadlines are often worked to the point of complete exhaustion, leading to a decline in their mental health and increased substance abuse.

Just as being an academic was not for me, the skilled trades are not for everyone, but can be a great career for many. Blue collar jobs are not stuck in the dark ages, and often incorporate modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation and robotics. It can be an exciting and sexy career path.

For the last 20 years, I have been raising the alarm about the need to see white collar and blue collar industries as equals, and talking about the need to have equal opportunities and respect in order to bring more women and people from marginalized communities. into the field. This way, they can see that the industry offers viable, rewarding career paths with great financial benefit.

Over the past decade, I have turned away millions of dollars in work because my company did not have enough employees to expand across the country. I know of many other small and medium construction companies in the same situation. The shortage of skilled trades workers is not “on the horizon” – it has been here for years. It is stifling Canada’s economic growth.

It may take decades to change societal attitudes, but I am hopeful that new perspectives from employers, parents, educators and organizations can have an influence. When I speak as part of the Women in Skilled Trades and Jill of All Trades programs, young women from Grades 9 to 12 show up by the busload, curious about what the day will entail. The energy is undeniable as they look at all the material for electrical work, robotics, carpentry, automotive mechanics and welding that they will be using that day.

I tell them my story of coming from humble beginnings, being a gay woman and becoming a multi-millionaire by the age of 30 as an entrepreneur in the trades. I watch as hope rises in the room.

The number of women and people from marginalized communities enrolling in trade schools has increased in the last decade. Those who receive appropriate support on their journey do well. However, the bad news is that, in my estimation, 90 percent of trade companies are still run by people who have not engaged in human resource practices to make workplaces welcoming to women. I speak to many women who face sexism and harassment. Often they develop depression or anxiety, and eventually quit the industry altogether.

By improving the culture of our workplaces, we can truly convey to young people from all walks of life that they will be successful in the trades. Our young people need to be empowered to choose their career paths based on their passion and ambitions, not on what society says they should do. I wish I had a loonie for all the young people who have walked into my office and told me they lost their career after being pushed into university and a career white collar professional.

I am a big fan of the newly announced program that will allow Grade 11 and 12 students in Ontario to choose to spend most of their time in a skilled trades apprenticeship. This announcement gives hope to the industry, and it gives these students the autonomy to experience a different type of education to suit their career goals.

More young people should have the opportunity to build Canada – something they can brag about to their children in years to come. Imagine that in my shop class more than 30 years ago, seven or eight of us chose careers in the skilled trades – and that the same thing happened across the country. You can bet you’d fix that dishwasher a lot faster.

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