On March 5, Women in Skilled Trades Durham College (WISTDC) hosted a networking event for female students studying in the School of Skilled Trades, Apprenticeship and Renewable Technology. The event featured guest speaker Stephanie Smith, plant manager at Ontario Power Generation (OPG) Pickering, and focused on gender parity at OPG and the employment opportunities available to women within skilled trades.

OPG has made gender parity a key organizational goal in connection with the trades that account for a significant portion of their workforce. Smith shared her own experiences working with the trades and the direction in which OPG is headed. She was joined by guest journeywomen women Melissa Damiani and Judy Bartley, also with OPG, who discussed their experiences as tradespersons and answered questions from attendees.

Damiani, an instrumentation technician and electrician, is the first female section manager in the Maintenance department at OPG. Bartley is a first line manager for Civil Maintenance, Deep Clean, Painters and Dosimetry Handling. She is also the Durham Region representative for Women in Nuclear Canada, an organization dedicated to promoting the role of women in the Canadian nuclear and radiation related industries.

WISTDC is dedicated to creating opportunities for female students in DC’s skilled trades programs at the Whitby campus to connect and network with other women working in skilled trades as well as each other. 

The first WISTDC event was held in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and encouraged students and DC employees to volunteer at an Oshawa build site. It was an incredible opportunity for students in the skilled trades to practice their craft within the community.

For the latest related news and event information, follow @WISTDC on Twitter.