OUT
OF THE STREAM AND INTO THE RIVER:
Exploratory
Courses in Trades and Technology for Women
by
Marcia Braundy
Originally
published as an Occasional Paper
by
the Canadian Vocational Association in 1992
Streaming has been an accepted
philosophy in educational circles. It
has been based upon, and has resulted in, the gender stereotyping of most
occupations into men's jobs and women's jobs.
The demographic picture of the next twenty years demands that we use all
of our potential workers in the most broad range of occupations. Streaming has ensured that not all of these
potential workers have been well-prepared to work in technical fields. Special measures must be undertaken to
ensure that those women who have been denied exposure to and prior experience
with mechanical tools and materials, are given sufficient orientation training
to enable them to develop the skills, confidence and background necessary to
become successful workers and managers in technical occupations.
This paper provides both a
rationale for expanding our views of who is needed to make up the Canadian
Labour Force, and an analysis of effective programming developed to move women
out of traditional streams based on gender into fields that have been
traditionally male-dominated. It will
address the learning needs of women as they move into exploratory and
technical/vocational training, and on into occupations and jobs that will
provide economic sustenance, worklife satisfaction and needed skills for the
Canadian economy.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Let's start with a short
demographic picture: From 1970 to 1985,
there were 300,000 new entrants to the labour market every year. [1]
The baby boomers were entering the world of work in force. Along with this trend, women were entering
the labour market in greater numbers than in the past, and were staying, taking
only short leaves - less than a year[2]
- for childbearing and rearing. Canadian industry had many workers from which
to choose.
In 1990, there were approximately
180,000 new entrants to the labour market, just a little over half what existed
in the 70s and '80s.[3] That number
will decline every year until 2010. The 1990's entrants have a much more
diverse make-up. The baby boomers have
had fewer children, there was a significant growth in single parent families
and many of Canada's immigrants have come from areas other than Europe. The
majority of new entrants do not look like the traditional white males who had
made up the bulk of the skilled and semi-skilled Canadian workforce for many
decades.[4] Women, visible minorities, Aboriginal people
and people with disabilities now make up a vast majority of the new entrants to
the Canadian labour force.
Many of these new entrants are
adult learners. They are women who are re-entering the labour force after long
absences or who find themselves unable to support a family on the traditional
low wages of unskilled, often part-time, work to which women have been
relegated in the past. They are Aboriginal people who are developing more
skills which will enhance their abilities to manage their own affairs
effectively. In B.C., 25% of the new
entrants during the nineties will be native youth[5],
probably similar numbers in the rest of Western Canada[6].
They are immigrants, both women and men, who for social or political reasons
find themselves in a new and foreign country.
NEED TO TRAIN & TO RETRAIN BEFORE WE LOSE OUR
OLDER WORKERS
Regardless of the reasons, the
reality is that integrating these new workers has become more than a social
justice issue. It is an economic
necessity. This integration process
will be one of the major challenges facing adult educators in the 1990s.
We must not only educate, but we
must also re-educate: both our students and ourselves. And we must train for skills needed right
across the country, as we face the aging and "middle aging" of our
skilled workforce.[7] While the service sector, with its low
paying, dead-end jobs is the fastest growing sector of the economy, it is also
true that close to half the jobs being created today will require 4-5 years
combined education and training beyond high school.[8]
"New manufacturing
industries that rely on advanced production technologies and knowledge -intensive
activities will have different labour requirements than the older industries
they will be replacing.....There will be less need for semi-skilled or
unskilled workers in manufacturing.
There will be more demand for skilled technical and tradespeople."[9]
The country goes in and out of
recession regularly. But the fact is when we didn't train during the last
recession, even though the demographic issues were clear at that time[10],
as soon as we started to move out of the recession, there were shortages of
skilled workers experienced in almost every city and rural area in Canada[11]. While other countries are competing for a
portion of the world markets with Canada, Canadian employers will be competing
with each other for the shrinking numbers of workers, and particularly trained
and skilled workers.
"Canada's continued economic
growth will require a constant supply of well-trained individuals if a skills
gap is to be avoided. Successful
management of change thus requires increased attention to all forms of
education, training and retraining."[12]
It is essential that we do not
waste the opportunity to develop and maintain our competitive edge and
cooperative potential with other leading industrialized countries. We must train and utilize the capabilities
of all Canadians as well as those who have immigrated here with either
differing or un-recognized credentials.
"Firms wishing to ensure a steady supply of labour in future may be
advised to seek our these "non-traditional" sources of labour through
the provision of training and working conditions that are attractive to these
kinds of workers."[13]
SPECIAL MEASURES MUST BE UNDERTAKEN
We are entering a relatively new
phase of workforce development.
Recognizing the strength of these factors, EIC, supported by the
Canadian Labour Force Development Board, has been negotiating the new sets of
training agreements with the Provinces.
Those that have been signed outline some specific objectives to increase
the participation of women in occupations in trades, technology, operations and
blue collar work. If training institutions are interested in accessing some of the
training dollars that will be tied to these initiatives, it will be necessary
to modify some of the traditionally held views of what makes appropriate
training.
Special measures must be
undertaken to ensure that those women who have been denied exposure and prior
experience with mechanical tools and materials, are given sufficient
orientation training to enable them to develop the skills, confidence and
background necessary to become successful workers and managers in technical
occupations. They must address the
other barriers that women experience - the multiple roles women play as workers
and caregivers; the realities of poverty and childcare responsibilities that
circumscribe women's lives; gender stereotyping and women's often limited
experience with trades, technical and operational (TTO) work.[14]
The overall training needs of
designated groups must be met, along with the specific technical skills. To be successful, sponsors of programming
must recognize the differing needs. They must develop, in consultation with
WITT or other designated group representatives, adequate preparatory training,
support and follow-up for women, as well as for members of other designated
groups, either exploring or entering trades and technical training.
In this paper, I will focus on
issues particular to women. Many of the
circumstances, programs and initiatives described also pertain to members of other designated groups, but it
cannot be assumed that what is described here is adequate to meet the needs of
women or men who are faced with other disadvantages. These must be examined and measures developed to address each situation.
WE NEED TO ADJUST OUR THINKING TO THE REALITY THAT
WOMEN WORK
Traditionally, women have not
been encouraged to develop career goals in the same way that men have. Their expectations of themselves and the
world of work were moulded to be fairly low, based on the assumption that Prince
Charming would come along and take care of all their worldly needs. Now we know that more than 42% of all women
who work are heads of their own households, single women and single parent
families. "Contrary to popular
opinion, women are not working part-time for 'pin money', but are making a
significant contribution to the financial well-being of their families. Seven
out of ten women in the labour force are working full-time and contribute an
average of 40% of family income. Those
working part-time contribute 23% of family income. Without this second salary,
61% more families would fall below the poverty line.[15] We know that the participation rate for
women in Canada with children under three is 58.3%. Most women work 30 - 50 years in the paid labour force. With this information in mind, it becomes
imperative that we begin to look at women's involvement in the world of work in
terms of a career, one that will see them through their lives with real
economic stability, rather than as previously thought, just getting a
"job" that will "see them through until they get married or have
children...." In 1988, 74.9% of
all Canadian women between the ages of 25 and 34 worked in the paid labour
force.[16]
In 1970, women were 34% of the Canadian labour force. In 1988, women were 44%
of the total labour force.[17] Most projections indicate that by the year
2000, women and men will each make up half of the Canadian workforce.
FROM HOMEMAKER TO TECHNICAL WORKER IS NOT A SIMPLE
MOVE
It seems simple to say,
"well then, here is an important source of untapped or underdeveloped
human resources to fill our requirements for skilled workers". At the same
time we could reduce the social costs created by the fact that a large
percentage of those women are working in the lowest paying clerical and service
sector jobs[18], often the
jobs that are being eliminated through technological change and office
automation. Many women are coming from
situations of having been on social assistance for long periods, or perhaps
have found themselves as sole-support parents after years of being a homemaker.
It makes sense to look to this group as part of the solution to labour market
issues while at the same time solving their own economic needs.
But it is not that simple, because
often, women have not had the preparatory training that would enable them to be
successful workers in technical or blue collar fields. Streaming at earlier stages has tracked them
away from the basic knowledge in maths and science and tool skills training
that would have prepared them to be ready for this opportunity. Early socialization has trained them to
think about the products of their productive lives in very different ways.[19] In order for many women to consider, then
train and become qualified in technical and operational fields, they need to
understand what it is, and how the skills that they have developed in their
lives can be transferred into this new sphere.[20]
Not all women need this
pre-training, some go quite effectively into technical training and onto the
job without it. The initiatives I will
be describing are not necessarily for them, but we can all benefit from new
ways of approaching this integration process.
For those who will benefit, it is essential that all of the necessary
elements are provided in these exploratory and pre-trades and technology
courses.
Women's socialization process in
Canada has ensured that they, for the most part, have not received basic
orientation to tools and technical skills or developed the personal skills to
operate effectively in male-dominated workplaces.[21] It is time for us to recognize and
acknowledge the differing needs of women who want to become successfully
integrated into all aspects of the trades and technical training, and
ultimately into the technical or blue collar workforce. These needs will not be met solely by trying
to change the women to fit the regular technical courses an institution already
offers. They will be effectively met
only when training hosts recognize that women need not only additional, but
sometimes very different preparation to become successful trades and technical
workers for Canada. The profile of men
who make successful tradespeople differs significantly from the profile of
women who make successful trades or technical workers.[22]
Often men benefit as well from
some modification of teaching and learning styles. Carol Brooks and Susan Booth discovered that some 93% of females
in WITT exploratory courses in Ontario, and some 60% of men are "relational"
learners.[23] Relationally-centred learners do best when
they are able to: interact with other, relate personally to the instructor and
other learners; start from their
personal point of view and experience, build on and generalize from that;
express their feelings; feel relaxed; receive personal positive feedback; have
variety in the learning situation; use their creative abilities as a learning
tool.[24] The learning environment must allow for a
lot of personal attention from the instructors. The instructors must discover and respect learners' prior
knowledge and experience. This can only
happen in small groups and fairly informal settings. Most bridging programs try to provide these conditions.[25] Both women and men can benefit from these
more flexible teaching strategies.[26]
As Canadian demographics
indicate, we are going to need to train and qualify both women, and men of
traditionally different backgrounds, for our skilled workforce. It is up to skills training colleges and
institutes to lead the way in preparing us all for the occupations necessary to
keep Canada competitive in the world economy.
This means actively pursuing
understanding the differing needs of women learners, and developing appropriate
programming to move women out of the traditional streams into which they have
been funnelled from elementary school, through secondary school and into
mainstream trades and technical education.
This means, as well, developing an outreach program to bring them into
your institution, and a support system to assist them in staying. It means assisting instructors to develop
more flexibility in teaching strategies and a better understanding of how to
address issues that may come up in the classroom.
SELF ESTEEM IS A BOTTOM LINE ISSUE
The March, 1991 issue of Chatelaine
describes low self-esteem as one of the most significant problems facing young
women today. Most of us can confirm
that this does not go away as women get older...in fact, it often compounds,
building on experiences that become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Career
aspirations are often affected.
Intervention must be undertaken to expand both self-concept and career
aspirations. Attendance at a bridging
or WITT exploratory program can provide that intervention.
A 1989 national study showed that
one of the most significant benefits of Women In Trades and Technology
exploratory courses was the high increase in self-esteem and confidence
experienced by the participants.[27]
In that survey, contracted by
Employment and Immigration Canada, of the graduates of these pre-trades and
technology exploratory programs, 75% of
the respondents had gone on to further training in a trade or technical area.
63% of all of those surveyed were employed and 46% of those were working in a
trade or technical area at the time of the survey.[28] Many of the others had described a job
search that would break your heart before they made the choice to pursue
employment in clerical or service
sectors, or blue collar work not associated with their training. But even those women who had gone on to more
traditional occupations said that it was the confidence gained from the course
that had enabled them to seek out and be hired to do those jobs.
Many of those interviewed made it
very clear that it was not just the assertiveness training, problem solving or
self-esteem building workshops incorporated in the training that made the
difference. It was the hands-on
exploratory in the shops, the tool identification and learning how to use the tools
safely and effectively. They attributed
their labour force success to the competency base that came from tool skill
development as well as the development of personal skills and resources to
manage the new work environments.
WITT COURSES PROVIDE BROAD RANGE OF BASIC AND NEEDED
SKILLS
Over the years, a number of
different exploratory courses have been developed at various colleges across
the country. They vary in length, and
they especially vary in the depth at which technical theory and practical tools
skills are incorporated into the curriculum.
Sometimes this is due to factors such as trying to operate in a more
rural environment or to fiscal-year time factors, and sometimes it has been due
to a lack of understanding of the value of the hands-on portion. In other cases, only the hands-on portion is
provided, leaving out the life skills, personal and occupational fitness
development. It is clear from the many
outlines and evaluations I have read from courses across the country that all
aspects are essential. Some people call
these "bridging programs".[29]
"Bridging Programs are
affirmative action programs. They
compensate for inadequacies in people's earlier education or learning. They assume that people were unable to acquire
necessary information or skills earlier because of socio-economic circumstances
or membership in a particular group.
Bridging programs are meant to provide some compensation for systemic
barriers in formal and informal education.
They aim to 'level the playing field', to alleviate systemic
disadvantages and to assist in gaining access to, or in successfully completing
training and job searching."[30]
I would like to distinguish here
between Bridging Programs per se, and WITT type exploratory courses. Bridging Programs,
generally, are those that assist people, often women, who are entering or
re-entering the labour force, to develop life skills, career planning and job
search skills. Often, academic
upgrading is built in, to allow for the development of entry level requirements
for a chosen occupational field.
Although the idea of pursuing a career in a trade, technical or blue
collar job may be introduced, it is not explored in depth. There is usually some emphasis placed on
Computer Literacy, but more of the focus is on Self-Assessment, Communication
skills, Job Market Research, Decision
Making and Goal Setting, Assertiveness, Managing the Requirements of Home and
Work, and Problem Solving. There is usually a Work Placement component to put
some of these newly learned skills into action. The idea is to create a "Bridge" from home, or minimal
labour force attachment, to either training or employment of some kind.
This is a particularly useful
course for women who have been on Social Assistance for a long period, and need
to build up their personal growth and academic skills.
WITT exploratory courses contain
most of the units described for Bridging Programs. But they focus more
particulary on Examining Labour Market Trends and Employment Opportunities in
Trades and Technology, actually Developing Occupational Fitness, Safe Work
Practices, and on theory and practical expertise in a variety of trades and
technical areas. These would include
many of the components that are useful across the technical areas - for
example: Processing Technical Information, Drafting and Blueprint reading, and
Using Basic Measuring, Layout, Hand and Power Tools in Carpentry, Electrical,
Metal, Mechanics, Robotics, Forestry shops, truck driving, building
maintenance, etc. - and areas in the technologies where women have also been
previously under-represented i.e. electronics, computers, construction and
forest technologies, aerospace, and others.
A course might feature 4 or 5 of these technical subject areas in some
detail, depending on the local/regional industrial requirements. At the same time, the students would be
learning about the responsibilities and rights of workers and employers on the
job, Industrial Health and Safety, Overcoming Societal Barriers that may be
encountered, Human Rights and Employment Equity Legislation and other realities
of the industrial workplace.[31]
In WITT courses, there are often
tours of construction sites and industrial workplaces, and films and
discussions with women who have effectively entered these occupations. These are role models who can describe the
joys and sense of tangible accomplishments as well as the challenges, and how
best to prepare for them. The students
have at least one and sometimes more 3-4 week work experiences on-the-job, to get
a strong understanding of the requirements of that occupational area. These are not Powder Puff courses, and must
be given access to the Institutional resources and facilities to become the
rigorous training ground necessary to prepare women to work successfully in
trades, technology and operations (TTO) work.[32]
Successful courses are 5-6 months
in length, full-time, and by the end the women are prepared to make an informed
career decision about which, if any, trade or technical training area she wants
to pursue, or what other area might be of greater interest. Because she has had the opportunity to climb
the scaffolding, work with the men, work in the grease, the tools, the wiring,
in the forest, with the transistors, the robots, etc., the choice she makes to enter further
technical training will be a committed one.
If she decides that the skills or the environment are beyond her present
capabilities, and decides to set her sights in another direction, and goes to
work as a bus or truck driver, a correctional officer, a groundskeeper, a teacher's aide, a clerk, is that any less
of a success? But the reality is that
63% of the women who went through exploratory courses (1983-1987) were employed
a the time of the survey (1988) and another 12.8% were still enroled in
training.[33]
In almost all the reviews and
evaluations, including the larger, broader, more in-depth studies done most
recently nationally by Kootenay WITT, and at Durham College, and the 1991
Evaluation by of the Nowskills Program by Learning Resources in Vancouver,
these courses are clearly successful at what they set out to accomplish. Yet, they have been the first courses to be
eliminated when funding became scarcer, and often the evaluations/recommendations-for-improvement
sit on a shelf gathering dust, awaiting a new surge of energy to develop the
next ad hoc course. For those courses
that have been offered, except for Ontario, are generally provided on a very ad
hoc basis. There has been no continuity of program or staff which would have
allowed women, who went out to train and work, a basis for on-going support in
the challenges they encountered on the job.
If there was one similar criticism in all the evaluations, it was the
lack of follow up and ongoing support.
ROLE MODELS IN THE TECHNICAL CLASSROOMS
The importance of role models of
successful women workers in technical areas cannot be stressed enough. As well as having working women address the
students during a classroom panel, or during occupational research, or through
films and videos, it is also important for the students to work with women who
are competent with tools.
Some colleges, particularly in
B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba, have hired women with trades or technical
qualifications to coordinate the courses, instruct in their areas of expertise,
and assist the regular instructors in hands-on training in the other technical
shops. Some courses are coordinated by
individuals with life skills training backgrounds. In some of the courses offered in Ontario, a tradeswoman or
technologist works as a part of a team, coordinating the program with a life
skills coach. The women students fare
better because they see a woman using the tools and showing them how. Many women who have become skilled at a
particular trade have tinkered in a number of fields until satisfied that the
one chosen would suit for a career.
Often, women now involved in technical fields came from a background in
communications/social work/etc, and also have the ability to coordinate and
instruct.
If the person were hired on a
full-time, permanent basis, there would be ongoing follow up and support for
graduates. Her job would include
participant selection, life skills, &/or tool orientation, assisting vocational/technical
instructors in the shops, organizing work placements and follow-up -clearly a
full time job, and a very important role model to the female, and male student
population at a vocational institution.
She should be someone who has had real on-the-job experience in
industry, so that she can bring to the students a good understanding of what
the workplace is like, and what some of her coping strategies have been in
overcoming barriers encountered.
As well, it would be useful to
have a full-time women's advocate whose job it would be to provide advocacy and
a support system to women as they go into technical courses throughout the
institution. EIC personnel have
indicated that this is something that could be funded under the Employment
Assistance Option of EIC's training funds.
PART-TIME VS. FULL TIME
Most programs offered are
full-time day programs that meet the needs of a certain portion of the
population. Often, if she finds a
cooperative counsellor, a woman can obtain financial assistance from Employment
and Immigration Canada (EIC) or Social Assistance to attend. This can work well, especially under the new
EIC training policy regulations, for the unemployed, those re-entering the
workforce after a long absence and the employment disadvantaged. For the most part, those who have proven
most successful in using the opportunity provided by the program, the those
working at low-paying dead-end jobs, have not been able to gain access to
assistance to attend full-time.
Women with small children,
limited income, cultural barriers, and those underemployed and unable to leave
their jobs to explore other options do not have access to these programs. There is a need for some bridging programs
to be made available on a part-time and flexible basis; delivered in a
half-day, weekend &/or evening format.[34] At BCIT this has proven to be an excellent
source of new students. It is an avenue
for working women who are already "job ready" to move directly into
technical training after completing a shorter, less in-depth orientation
training.
Programs that are
multi-dimensional, where women can access the needed skills without being
locked into a set program are also being explored. This can provide an opportunity for a woman with high life-skills
to participate primarily in the hands-on skills training and career
exploration, and only in the sections of life skills needed. This is being explored by the WISE Program,
sponsored by the Canadian Congress on Learning Opportunities for Women (CCLOW)
and the Association for Lifelong Learning in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, and
Bridging Programs for Women, which was sponsored by CCLOW at Regina Plains
College in Saskatchewan.
BEYOND THE "NON-TRADITIONAL" TO TTO JOBS
Sometimes these courses have been
referred to or named as introductions to "non-traditional occupations for
women". The WITT National Network
has been actively advocating for a change in that terminology. Since men have been doing these jobs for
years, referring to them as "non-traditional" only when women do them
sets those women apart as if they don't really belong. Many young women do not want to be
"non-traditional", they want to be just like everyone else, but they
would like to earn more money!
It is still not easy to find a
comfortable term to refer to the broad range of occupations we are trying to
identify. After much discussion, the
national organization decided to call itself the WITT National Network, and
state that it is advocating for women in trades, technology, operations and
blue collar work. A short form to refer
to the work might be as TTO jobs: trades, technical and operations. Not perfect, but much better than what it
replaces. If you are trying to attract
women and girls to a career, it is a good idea to describe the work, rather
than the characteristics of the women doing the work.
SPONSORSHIP AND TRAINING HOSTS
A relatively small number of
these courses are regular offerings at community colleges around the country -
more in Ontario than anywhere, but those were cut back severely several years
ago. As the new training agreements are
being signed, there may be a growing number of these courses planned, as
important equity initiatives. The
colleges and institutes, themselves, may decide to sponsor the program. They may work together with community-based
advocacy groups to ensure the appropriate elements are included in the course
profile. They may work with unions or
employer associations driven by demographics or equity considerations to expand
their potential workforce. In some
areas, community-based groups may decide to sponsor the courses, perhaps buying
space at the college, perhaps using the facilities of local businesses or
secondary schools. If public training
institutions want to maintain their role as the major providers of training, it
will be important to forge links with community-based organizations
representing the designated groups.
INVOLVING THE "PRIVATE SECTOR" ON ADVISORY
COMMITTEES
It is important to bring all the
players with information, knowledge and resources to the table to discuss
curriculum development and implementation.
When the National Task Force on Apprenticeship met for many months
during 1989/90 to discuss the labour market issues mentioned earlier, consensus
was reached on the need for WITT exploratory courses. It was recommended that these courses be set up in every college
in the country. These industry leaders,
the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Canadian Federation of Labour, the Canadian Construction Association, IWA -
Canada, the Building Trades, the Canadian Manufacturers Assoc. and others
together with WITT's National Coordinator also recommended that these courses
have Advisory Committees at each institution, made up of representatives of
unions, employers, WITT advocates and educators, to ensure that everyone who
had a part to play in the successful training and integration of women in these
courses and on to the job was able to have input into course development.[35] This can also ensure that when the time
comes for women to enter the work experience portion of the course, the support
and networks of the industry are already engaged, and invested in the potential
success of the program.
There is a new twist developing
in sponsoring and putting on courses to get more women into industry.
This is being driven by two factors.
One is the skill shortage factor mentioned earlier, and the other is a
desire to be perceived as acting in a voluntary manner to increase the
numbers of women, particularly in the
construction industry. As the review
process for the Employment Equity Legislation develops momentum, there is a
strong industry lobby to maintain Construction's exemption from compliance
under the legislation or the Federal Contractor's Program. This is not inherently a negative force,
though the potential for inadequate program responses is a concern.
Because each union or industry
group sees only the shortages in their area, there is a tendency to run a
"pre-apprenticeship" course in one specific trade area. Often, that is the only course available for
women even vaguely interested to TTO occupations. Therefore, many women either opt in or are strongly encouraged or
directed to pursue training in that particular course, to fill the space, without having had the background to make an
informed career choice. This can lead
to a high drop-out rate as the women engage in technical training without the
necessary supports and background.
We often have industry
representatives who are familiar with the technical training of workers in
their field, who may be unwilling to believe there may be differing learning
needs when teaching groups of women.
They may not understand the need for introductory or exploratory
training, or if they do, they may not understand the time frames required to
build personal skills and occupational fitness. Sometimes, they are reluctant to allow women the opportunity to
learn in groups with only women, and feel the women would benefit most quickly
from being placed at least half and half in regular technical training courses
with male student learners almost immediately,
with one month or less of orientation training by themselves. The "sink or swim" model. This is also seen as easier for institutions
who believe they can fit the women into their regularly scheduled classes, and
have few modifications to make. Often,
these industry representatives believe they know more about what is necessary
than those who are experienced in addressing women's learning needs. And they do know a great deal about what
technical training is required. Their
limitations may be in understanding what else is necessary. This can lead to significant difficulties
for the women and for the instructors/administrators.[36] The importance of working together to build
programs that will result in success for all cannot be stressed enough. That is where an Advisory Committee with all
the appropriate players can be very effective. WITT advocates and WITT
instructors can bring perspective on women's learning needs to the table.
MODELS OF TRAINING
The reality is that many of the
women who come into the programs don't yet have the background to be on equal
footing with the men, and many traditional roles and expectations get played
out on the shop floor and during work experiences. These inequalities include lack of tool knowledge, lack of
physical fitness, lack of math background etc.[37] This can be solved by having a 3-5 month
exploratory and/or orientation component at the beginning of the course, and a
waitlist of ready applicants to fill any spaces that are vacated. (The drop-out rates in most of the
exploratory courses in Canada throughout the 1980's was 6-12%.[38] The number seems to be much higher in the
industry sponsored courses, with as many as 75% of the women choosing not to go
into the field.[39] Comparable
success rates for courses which also offer the additional life skills, personal
development and occupational fitness indicate that approximately 75% choose to
continue training and seek employment in technical fields.[40]
There are also some strong
benefits of industry sponsored training programs. The Canadian Construction Association has been implementing the
CLMPC recommendation, having sponsored a number of courses at colleges in
Ontario, and plans to sponsor several others in provinces across the
country. A review and evaluation of the
Ontario courses will be available from October at the CCA office in
Ottawa. It will be interesting to note
their findings. One of the strong benefits of industry sponsored training is
the potential for jobs at the completion of training. The Carpenters Union in B.C. and in Ontario have sponsored
specific courses for women in Carpentry.
In B.C. the women who completed were guaranteed a place in the
union. Currently, 9 are carpentry
apprentices working on construction sites in the Lower Mainland.
Another model that has been
developed and has proven very successful comes from the City of Toronto.
"Bridges" was initially developed for in-house use to move interested
women from clerical to technical occupations.[41] The 13 women chosen for the pilot left their
regular workplaces one day a week, to participate in an orientation program
which included physical fitness, tours of potential TTO worksites at the city,
role model presentations, understanding the potential barriers and developing personal skills to manage and
overcome them. After several months of
that, they entered full time shop work at George Brown College, learning tools
and hands-on skills in a variety of technical fields. At the end of three weeks, they went into a full-time work
experience, chosen by themselves, in a shop area of the City that had been
identified by the manager as having potential for opening in the next 2-3
years. After another three weeks they
went back to their original job to await an opportunity to bid on the job they
had tried. At the six month evaluation
of the program, 9 of the 13 were already working in their new jobs.
This model has been expanded and
offered by the City to private sector employers in Toronto. Unitel, Rogers Cable, Consumers Gas, AT
&T and others have all graduated
employees through the program.[42] Syncrude Oil in Ft. McMurry, Alberta has
also worked with the Bridges staff, and have recently finished a program where
they committed to training and apprenticeship placements before the women
entered the training, and now have 12 women working out well in their
operations.
All of these programs have
recognized that there are a number of required elements to ensure success. For those programs that are dealing with
women already working in the company, there may be less time needed to be spend
in units like "Managing the Requirements of Home and Work",
"Develop and Apply Problem-Solving Strategies" or "Managing
Child Care". But some
understanding of "The Position of Women In The Labour Force" or
"Develop Strategies for Overcoming Societal Barriers", "Develop
and Practice Assertive Skills", and "Examine Labour Market Trends and
Training and Employment Opportunities in Trades and Technology" are
essential components for everyone.
WOMEN TRAINING WITH WOMEN
And yes , it is true that often
men can benefit from Assertiveness Training and Communication Skills
Building. But until men and women gain
the benefit of those lessons, it is difficult for them to learn these new
skills together. "It is important that the students test out their
learning in situations where they will be judged against themselves, rather
than the man standing next to them who may be at a very different place in his
development. Women at similar stages of
learning, competing and co-operating with each other can provide a healthy and
productive atmosphere to grow in. Once
a woman has achieved some general mastery, she is then ready to enter training
and employment on a more equal footing."
At one institution where a
review/analysis had been done with the male instructors of a 50/50
pre-apprenticeship program in a particular trades area, it was suggested that the female students
held the male students back, and made excessive demands on the time and
attention of the instructors. It is
painful to think about how the women were made to feel, however
unintentionally, although there were positive comments on how the male students
felt good and could shine when they
"taught" the female students. After the review, the instructors were
provided with the volume, Instructor's
Handbook: Working With Female Relational Learners in Technology and Trades
Training by Carol Brooks,
Ph.D. Several of them commented that it
lead to greater understanding of the circumstances they had encountered in
their classrooms. Under "How to
improve the program next time", one of the comments specifically suggested
that we need to "help women develop more confidence with their hand skills
before they start [the program], probably extending the
orientation," "more fitness training " and counselling
support. They also felt it was
"important for instructors to have information on how to build an
appropriate, 'non-traditional' relationship with women students."[43]
CONCLUSION
In order to effectively meet the
challenge presented by both demographics and a competitive economy, we need to
expand our thinking about both who we are training, and how we are training
them. As we move into training more
women and other designated groups in technical occupations, there must be a
recognition of the differing learning styles and training needs of the
students. Clearly, there is education
that can take place on both sides, learning that will sustain both the male
students and instructors, and the women.
However, it is vitally important that the women receive the pre-training
they need to assist them to operate effectively, on more equal footing as they
go on into the regular technical classrooms.
For many, that is most successfully accomplished in an initial
supportive training environment for developing both life skills and some
competency with tools with other women, and going into scheduled work
experience in industry. For this whole
training course, the goals are:
1) To
introduce women students to the range of possible occupations in trades and
technology fields.
2) To
develop strategies for dealing with the multiple roles of working women.
3) To provide
academic upgrading in math, science and communication skills to enable
participants to pursue further training and employment options.
4) To
provide in-depth exploration and skill development in a wide range of Trades
and Technologies.
5) To
provide labour market information, career planning, assertiveness training, and
job search skills to assist students to make informed career choices.
6) To
provide hands on use of hand tools and power tools in a training shop setting.
7) To
provide hands-on work experience in industry assuring realistic consideration
of potential work environments and the students' abilities to adapt to those
situations.
8) To
provide basic background in group format necessary for students to enter
regular trades and technical programs.
9) To
provide sustained and effective support throughout the entire transition from
home, unemployment, or underemployment to a training program or appropriate
employment in a job with a salary sufficient for the economic responsibilities
of the participant.
Achieving these goals will meet
the following objectives:
1) The
employment potential of participants will be increased especially in trades and
technology areas.
2)Participants
will identify and explore a broad range of employment and training
opportunities in trades and technology fields.
3)
Women who complete this course will have a realistic understanding of the
physical, emotional and academic requirements of training and employment in
trades and technology work, and will have developed a series of skills to
assist them in becoming competent workers in these areas.[44]
MARCIA
BRAUNDY
Biographical
notes
Marcia Braundy is a
university-educated journey-level carpenter, with 12 years at her trade. She was
the second woman qualified as a carpenter in British Columbia, and the first
woman in the B.C. Carpenter's Union, building everything from Victorian
renovations, hospitals, and shopping malls to coal silos 278' tall. She completed her inter-provincial
apprenticeship in 1981.
Ms. Braundy has developed and
instructed Women In Trades and Women In Trades and Technology exploratory
courses at Selkirk College and The College of New Caledonia in B.C.. She
authored Orientation To Trades and
Technology, A Curriculum Guide and
Resource Guide With A Special Emphasis On The Needs Of Women, B.C.
Ministry of Advanced Education & Job Training (1987). In 1988, she completed the WITT Graduates Survey, a national study of graduates of
technical exploratory courses, available from Human Resources Development
Canada, NHQ, Designated Groups. The
Canadian Vocational Association published her 1992 paper "Out of the Stream and Into the River", highlighting
Canadian issuses for these courses.
Braundy has delivered over 40 sessions
of The Workplace In Transition:
Integrating Women Effectively, a seminar for a primarily male audience:
vocational instructors, job stewards, apprenticeship and employment
counsellors, training coordinators, foremen/supervisors, to assist them to deal
more successfully with women training and working in the trades/technology
workforce and produced the A/V "What
Happens to Women In Tradesland".
Braundy organized the 1988 "Surviving and Thriving - Women In
Trades and Technology and Employment Equity", and assisted with "Surviving & Thriving II - The Sequel" in 1992, and "Building Bridges - Building
Partnerships" in 1994, all national conferences with 60-80 workshops
over 4 days. She was managing editor and marketer of Surviving and Thriving - Women In Trades and Technology and
Employment Equity, Kootenay WITT 1989. Over 1000 Canadian copies were
sold. She was one of the writers of Winning With Women in Trades,
Technology, Science and Engineering, the Report of the National
Advisory Board on Science and Technology presented to the Prime Minister of
Canada in 1993.
Her small renovation and finish
work company, Journeywomen Ventures Ltd.,
started in 1983, has trained and qualified two women apprentices.
From 1989-94, Braundy was the
elected National Coordinator of the WITT National Network, advocates for
women in trades, technology, operations and blue collar work. Under her tenure,
grassroots WITT groups across the country increased from 6 to over 40. She
published the Network newsletter and coordinated a national Industrial
Adjustment committee of WITT women, employers, unions, educators and
government, looking at programs, policies and initiatives to increase the
successful integration of women in trades, technical and operational (TTO)
work. Their focus on Front Line Education, WITT Exploratory Course National
Standards, Role Modelling, and Employment Equity led to a national
cross-sectoral Human Resource Council and the publication of "Welcoming Women into Trades,
Technology, Operations and Blue Collar Work: A Checklist of Strategies."
From 1986-91, she was a member of
the Federal Advisory Committee to the
President of the Treasury Board on Employment Equity for Women in the Public
Service and chaired their Sub-Committee on Training. She was
instrumental in recommending the federal government, as employer, develop a
service-wide apprenticeship program with an emphasis on the designated groups
and institute bridging programs to move women into technical occupations.
As a part of the 1989/90 Labour Force Development Strategy,
Marcia Braundy sat on the National Task
Force on Apprenticeship, the Canadian
Labour Force Development Board Sub-Committee on Apprenticeship from
1991-94, the CLFDB Employment Equity
Working Group, 1993/94, and the BC
Provincial Apprenticeship Board from 1992 to the present. She has been a member of the National Women's Reference Group on Labour
Market Issues, the BC Women's
Employment and Training Coalition and has a long history of involvement
with organizations working for social and economic equality for women. Her
paper, "What Needs to Change to Get
More Women Into Apprenticeship" appears in the book, Strategies That Work: Women In Trades,
Technology and Applied Science recently published by Green Dragon
Press.
She can be reached at R.R. # 1,
Winlaw, British Columbia V0G 2J0 (604) 226-7624 Fx: 226-7954
[1].StatsCan - Background information provided to the
Labour Force Development Strategy National Task Force on Apprenticeship by
Canadian Labour Market and Productivity Centre and EIC researchers.
[2].Diane Alfred. Labour Market Paper - Women. EIC
Economic Services. BC/Yukon Region. December 1989. p.9.
[3].Employment and Immigration
Canada. Success in the Works: A Profile
of Canada's Emerging Workforce, April 1989.
[4].Canadian Labour Market and
Productivity Centre (CLMPC). Business Perspectives on the Economy -
Number 2, Short on Skills: Skilled
Labour Shortages and the Canadian Economy, November 1989.
[5].Ian McKinon, ADM, BC Ministry of
Finance & Corporate Relations "The Changing Labour Market
Structure" - EE Practitioner's Conference, March 1991, Vancouver.
[6].Ian McKinnon, "The Changing
Structure of the Labour Force" March 1991
[7].Women In Trades, Kootenay
Council, 1988 - "Women In The Labour Force: Facts, figures, present and
future projections", distributed as part of resource materials/discussion
guide for "What Happens to Women In Tradesland", an A/V production.
Dr. David Foot, Professor of Economics, U.of Toronto - "Population,
Pyramids & Promotional Prospects: A Training Perspective", delivered
at Training - Investing In People For
The Future, April 1991, Ontario's 22nd Annual Training Conference.
[8].Employment and Immigration
Canada, Public Affairs & Strategic Policy and Planning. Success In The Works - A Policy Paper. Ottawa
1989 pp.1.
[9].Shelly Gordon. Operation Access: A pre-apprenticeship
bridging program for women, Part 1 Framing Women's Options. Advocates for
Community-Based Training and Education for Women (ACTEW). May 1989, p.25. This volume provides an excellent
understanding of the barriers women encounter going into these fields and a
good rationale for inclusion of the components necessary to help women overcome
those barriers. It also has fairly
comprehensive bibliography on the subjects of training, women and technical
skills.
[10].Lloyd Axworthy, then Minister of
Employment and Immigration. Speech
delivered to Women In Trades Conference. Winnipeg 1980.
[11].CLMPC, Business Perspectives on the Economy #2, pg. 1-4
[12].Business/Labour Task Force on
Adjustment. Working Together to Manage
Change. Canadian Labour Force and
Productivity Centre. January 1989.
[13].Business Perspectives... #2,
pg.14
[14].Mary Murry, MSW & Patricia
McDonald, LLB. NOWSKILLS PROGRAM K15622-2 FINAL EVALUATION REPORT, Learning
Resources Society. Vancouver March 1991.
[15].Advisory Council on the Status of
Women. Caring for Our Children - A Brief
on Bill C-144. Ottawa 1988.
[16].The statistics and information in
this paragraph comes from a number of sources:
Women In Trades, Kootenay Council.
Women in the labour force: Facts,
figures, present and future projections. 1988
Diane Alfred, EIC Economic Services Branch, BC/Yukon Region. Labour Market Paper - Women. 1989
StatsCan. Women In Canada: A
Statistical Report from Statistics Canada. 1990
[17].Alberta Advisory Council on
Women's Issues. Newsletter. Volume
4, #2 May 1991. Source: Status of Women Canada.
[18].Marcia Braundy. Income
Support Issues for Women On Training -A Compendium of Views. Prepared for
EIC/NHQ, Income Support Division.
Ottawa 1990. pp.9-10.
"In Saskatchewan women make up 99% of the stenos and secretaries,
86% of the bookkeepers, 97% of nurses, 91% of cashiers and tellers, 96% of
childcare occupations, 97% of receptionists, and 79% of all elementary and
kindergarten teachers.
In 1988 in Canada, the vast majority of working women were employed in
service industries (84%). Women for the
overwhelming majority in clerical occupations (80%) and were significantly
represented in service (57%) and sales (46%) occupations where they are low
wage earners.
Food preparation and service, cleaning occupations, childcare and
hairdressing are occupations which account for over 69% of women in the
personal service category.
The average wage in Canada for women in the clerical sector in 1986 was
$12,718/yr; in service occupations, $7,223; in sales, $9,519.
[19].Science Council of Canada, Who
Turns The Wheel? - Proceedings of a Workshop on the Science Education of Women
in Canada, January 1982. This was
one of the first books published in Canada to outline the issues and begin to
germinate many of the solutions that are currently attempted in today's school
systems and government policies.
[20].Susan Booth, Carol Brooks, Kem
Murch, Barbara Brown. Women Into Trades
& Technology, published by the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and
Universities, November, 1981. pp.7-21.
This is the first published Canadian curriculum guide for pre-trades
& technology exploratory courses for women. Other courses, in Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg were developed
earlier, in the late 1970's.
Jo Shuchat with Genii Guinier & Aileen Douglas. The Nuts and Bolts of NTO: A Handbook for Recruitment, Training,
Support Services and Placement of Women In Nontraditional Occupations. Published by the Technical Education
Research Centre, 1981. Available from
Scarecrow Books (908) 548-8600. It is
interesting to note that the first major American work and the first major
Canadian work on developing and implementing these courses came out nearly
simultaneously.
[21].Shelly Gordon. Operation Access: pp.40-55. These pages outline most clearly the
societal and institutional barriers that face women before and during training
and employment in trades and technical fields, as well as outlining structural
and institutional strategies for overcoming them.
[22].Marcia Braundy. Orientation
to Trades & Technology - A Curriculum Guide and Resource Book With a
Special Emphasis on the Needs of Women. Ministry of Advanced Education and
Job Training, Victoria 1987,1990.
Available from the Open Learning Agency (604) 660-2190. p.58.
[23].Carol Brooks, Ph.D. Instructor's Handbook: Working With Female Relational Learners in
Technology and Trades Training. Ontario Ministry of Skills Development,
1986.
[24].Carol Brooks Ph.D. Kina Waabge: the Circle of Learning - Learning Styles in Native Adult
Education Programs. Nokee Kwe Occupational Skills Development Program.
London 1987.
[25].Shelly Gordon. Operation
Access: pp.84-85.
One
classification of learning styles gaining credence in women's bridging programs
was developed by Dr. Sandra Segal and popularized in [Canada] by Susan Booth
and Carol Brooks. They suggest that
three learning styles interact in everybody's learning process, but that one
style is consistently prominent in each person. The three learning styles are:
Mentally-centred:
idea development, overview, focus, clarity, objectivity, precision, solitary
learning, structure, attention, observation, rules, visual, conceptualizing,
analyzing;
Relationally-centred:
personal relevance, verbalizing relating, connecting, creative imagination,
peer learning, sensitivity, resourcefulness, assessing, planning,
organizing,auditory, modelling, personal expression, creative expression,
variety;
Physically-centred:
hand-on, practice, practical application, practical problem solving,
repetition, drill, completion, kinaesthetic, demonstration, pacing, time
management, experimenting, tinkering, tactile.
The learning
process has three parts, thinking, planning/assessing, and doing.
Brooks and
Booth estimate that 80% to 85% of the North American population are
relationally centred learners while 10% to 15% are physically centred. Unfortunately, our education system is
primarily organized to be appropriate for the 3% to 10% who are mentally
centred.
This material,
drawn from Operation Access: is
noted to have come from:
Susan Booth and
Carol Brooks, eds. Adult Learning
Strategies: An Instructor's Toolkit by Ontario Adult Educators. Ontario Ministry of Skills Development.
Toronto 1988. pp.5, 16-17.
[26].For a synthesis of relational learning strategies
adapted from Carol Brooks' Instructor's
Handbook, see Orientation to Trades
and Technology pp 31-34.
14.Patti
Schom-Moffatt & Marcia Braundy. National Survey of Women In Trades and
Technology Orientation Courses. Employment and Immigration Canada. April 1989
[28].See Appendix 1 for chart of employment/training status
before and after training.
[29].Through a misunderstanding, two of the focus groups in
the survey were made up of women who had not gone through an exploratory
program but had gone directly into trades training with the men. In effect, this provided a control group as
they were all asked the same questions.
Those women who had not been through an exploratory course described, as
missing in their training, those components that would have been present in a
WITT course, i.e. occupational fitness, understanding the barriers,
assertiveness training, rights and responsibilities of workers and employers,
etc.
[30].Shelly Gordon. Operation
Access: p.80
[31].Marcia Braundy. Orientation
to Trades and Technology. All of
the activities described in this and the previous paragraphs are outlined in
this book in terms of performance objectives, with learning activities and teaching
strategies provided along with some hand-outs and lists of further resources
and teaching aids.
[32].The information in this whole section is drawn from 20
or more course outlines and evaluations of courses in Canada. Those in my collection date from
Saskatchewan, 1979 and are sprinkled across the country during the 1980's,
including the Durham Study and the National Study of WITT Graduates. The same information is reflected in The Nuts and Bolts of NTO and outlines
and evaluations from Trident Technical College and others in the US.
[33].Schom-Moffatt & Braundy. National Survey of WITT Orientation Courses. EIC 1989.
[34].Women's Employment and Training Coalition (WETC). Bridging
Programs - A Brief presented to Isabel Kelly, DM Gov't Services, Gary Mullins,
DM Ad.Ed. & Job Tr., Dick Butler, DM Social Services & Housing.
Vancouver, January 1991
[35].Report of the CLMPC Task Forces on the Labour Force Development Strategy. pp. 153-193. CLMPC, Ottawa, 1990.
[36].There are a number of institutions and training hosts
which are currently dealing with these results, and trying to find effective
models with which to move ahead. It
would be unfair and inappropriate to single of them out, as most institutions
could be facing the same problems.
Hopefully, as effective solutions are developed, these institutions will
share that information with us publicly.
[37].In a August 1991 conversation with Bob Whittaker,
Carpentry Apprentice & Training Coordinator, he stated that either the
selection process has to change significantly, or an in-depth exploratory
component needed to be added to the beginning of the course so women would be
more sure of their choices, have had better occupational and physical fitness
and perhaps some math upgrading.
[38].Background research for WITT Graduates Survey
[39].Discussions with unidentifiable training hosts.
[40].WITT Grads Survey and subsequent discussions with
training hosts.
[41].For those who doubt women's interest in these fields:
when the City of Toronto sent around a questionnaire to women working primarily
in clerical occupations, 535 women indicated they would be interested in moving
in TTO jobs. After 2 information
sessions, they still had 236 positive responses.
[42].The BRIDGES
Program Manual with Participants Workbook and Retention - Support Strategies for Women In Trades, Technology and
Operations Work and BRIDGES, A Video
on the Program are available from The City of Toronto, (416) 392-7162.
[43]. Confidential
memo.
[44].Marcia Braundy. WOMEN
IN TRADES AND TECHNOLOGY COURSES - A Discussion Paper. Kootenay WITT.
Winlaw, B.C. 1986. WETC, Bridging Programs Brief to BC
Provincial Government. January, 1991.