If Jamie McMillan has her way, a lot more women will take up the Boilermaker trade and join our union in the years ahead. McMillan, a 13-year union welder, runs a program called Kick Ass Careers that encourages women to work in the construction trades. The IBB has now signed on as a sponsor to encourage her efforts.

"Women represent a huge potential for our industry," said Boilermakers International Vice-President Joe Maloney. "We want to join and support Jamie in her efforts to encourage women to work in the skilled trades, particularly the Boilermakers."

Kick Ass Careers runs outreach programs in schools and communities to persuade more girls and women to think about a career in the construction industry. It's a continuation of the work McMillan has been doing since 2007 with community organizations.

In 2012, she started her own organization, operating under the name "Journeyman: It's a Status, Not a Gender." "Kick Ass will be somewhat of a rebrand and expansion of the Journeyman program," she says.

While visiting career-day events, McMillan tries to explain the things that she loves about being a welder.

New challenges

"I love the physical labour," she says. "I love being able to travel with my work and tailor my career to suit my lifestyle. There are always new jobsites and new challenges."

She had heard nothing about careers in the trades in school.

"The stereotypes start from the time we're children," she says. "Girls are taught to help with the cooking and cleaning while the boys do the yardwork and help in the garage. The story is the same throughout school. So girls grow up simply unaware of or believing they don't have what it takes to work in the trades."

McMillan is doing her part to change that through her community and school visits. And when she finds a girl or woman who is interested or follows through, she stays with her, mentoring and encouraging as she moves through apprenticeship into her career.

One of her goals working with the Boilermakers is to recruit some of the women in our trade to become Kick Ass Ambassadors, encouraging girls and women in their own communities to consider careers in the industry.

Sponsorship and support

If McMillan is successful in spreading her message, Boilermakers across Canada will hear a lot more about opportunities for women in the construction trades in the years ahead.

"With the sponsorship and support from the Boilermakers, I can rebrand the program, revamp the website, provide more educational and promotional materials, and develop a greater outreach strategy," she said.

"I am very proud to advocate on behalf of the Boilermakers and I look forward to a long and productive joint effort to recruit, encourage and retain skilled tradeswomen in the IBB."

Kick Ass Careers has also received support from the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program and the Canadian Welding Association Foundation. "They support my efforts by filling up my schedule with speaking engagements and events, and strongly advocate on my behalf," she says.

If interested members wish to contact Jamie for more information, they can contact her through the Journeyman Facebook page.