Episode 243: The Trailblazer with Laura Potje

The CWB Association brings you a weekly podcast that connects welding professionals around the world and unrepresented communities as we continue to strive for a more diverse workforce. Join us as we celebrate Women Empowerment Month to learn about the incredible contributions of Women in the welding industry and our communities.

Trailblazer Laura Potje shares her 45-year journey in welding, from shop floors and uranium refineries to becoming a Red Seal welder and instructor. Laura reflects on breaking barriers, the importance of mentorship, and how hands-on workshops are helping more women discover careers in the skilled trades. Don't miss this empowering conversation about creating opportunities and building confidence for the next generation of women in welding.

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Transcript

Sponsor Offer & Opening

SPEAKER_03 0:01

Welcome to the CWB Association Welding Podcast. I'm your host, Kevin Hawaii. Let's flip up the lid and spark some conversation. Attention welders in Canada. Looking for top-quality welding supplies? Look no further than Canada Welding Supply. With a vast selection of premium equipment, safety gear, and consumables, CWS has got you covered. They offer fast and reliable shipping across the country. And here's the best part. Podcast listeners get 10% off any pair of welding gloves. Use code CWB10 at checkout when placing your next order. Visit Canada Welding Supply.ca now. Canada Welding Supply, your trusted welding supplier. Happy welding. Welcome, welcome, welcome. March is Woman Empowerment Month on the CWB Association Welding Podcast, and we're turning up the heat on some stories that spark change. This month we celebrate the women who strike arcs, break barriers, lead crews, mentor apprentices, run businesses, and shape the future of Canada's welding industry. March is our spotlight moment, but the work, the recognition, and the respect, that's year-round. So welcome to this episode. I have with me Laura Hoche. Did I say that?

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Hi, thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

You did. You did. Nailed it. Another one. So Laura, tell us a little bit about yourself.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Well, I started welding in 1978. I did work in an office uh for a few months when I first got out of high school trying to figure out what I wanted to do. And here I am 40 some years later. And I have to say it's been a great experience for me.

SPEAKER_03 1:49

Wow. I gotta say it's pretty impressive that you have been welding longer than I've been alive. Like that's amazing to me. And I'm not trying to age anybody right now, but I that's just amazing.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Yeah, the years kind of go by kind of fast.

SPEAKER_03 2:07

Oh, I I yeah, I believe it.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

It's uh been a really rewarding career for me, and I've had a lot of uh different job changes over the years, and um hopefully, you know, it I can encourage people, especially women, to get out and try welding and and possibly choose it as a career.

First Jobs And Early Training

SPEAKER_03 2:27

That's awesome. So, where did your welding journey like really begin? Where did your love for welding come from?

SPEAKER_01 2:33

Well, I grew up, uh I spent a lot of time on my grandparents' dairy farm. So you weren't a boy or a girl, you were a laborer, and uh I wasn't afraid to get my hands dirty. My mother wanted me to be a nurse, and uh I grew up uh just in a town called Godrich. So it was near the Bruce Nuclear Plant, and a lot of guys I knew were pipe welders, and they talked about what a great job it was, how much money they made, and I thought, well, why can't I do that? But I quickly learned you don't just uh walk in there and tell them you want to be a pipe welder, you need some experience and training.

SPEAKER_03 3:10

Yeah, how old were you when this was happening?

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Uh rush out of high school, 18 years old.

SPEAKER_03 3:17

Wow. So all your friends were welders or all the people in your town were welders, kind of deal, because of the plant just down the road?

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Not a lot of people a lot of people work there, not as welders, but a few of my friends uh did work there as pipe welders and uh just sounded like an exciting job. And I really didn't know what I wanted to do. I think a lot of people coming out of high school aren't really sure of you know what path lies ahead for them. And I just thought I'd like to try it. Mind you, there was no place to really try welding uh there. When I uh knocked on a few doors trying to get an entry-level job, everybody laughed at me. But finally one uh one guy said, uh, you go try welding somewhere if you like it, come back and then I'll hire you. So there was a blacksmith in town, and he allowed me to do a little bit of stick welding and use a torch. And I thought, hey, this could be okay. So I went back and uh the gentleman hired me and I made$3.48 an hour building pig pens and horse dolls.

SPEAKER_03 4:24

Wow. Wow. I don't know what that is if we adjust it for inflation inflation, but I mean you had you had you had to at least love a little bit of welding to get into it like that. So after this happened, did you did you think of of going to get like an official course or a certificate?

Big Shops, Interviews, And Culture

SPEAKER_01 4:42

I did, but at the time uh when I got that job, the people I worked with were fantastic. I have to say, for that time uh to be accepted in a workplace as some young woman who walks in and wants a job, it was uh it was an easy path. And then when I I decided to move to London and I got a job at it was called Anvil Construction, we did a lot of repair for Clark equipment, and it was a huge pay raise, so that was kind of nice. And then once you start making money, you think, well, this is okay. Uh and then I got a job at Timberjack. They were hiring a lot of people making mining and forestry equipment. And uh I think, you know, we get into a position where you're making good money, you have benefits, you have a pension, and and uh I probably would have stayed there longer, but in 1981 there was a big recession and they laid off about half the plant. So that's when I decided, okay, if I'm gonna stay in this industry, I'm going to uh pursue my dream of becoming a pipe welder. So I did go to Conestoga College, they had a little Stratford campus, and I did uh the pipe welding course, and I got a bunch of tickets, and then I ended up uh as a pipe welder at El Dorado Nicol Refinery. It was a uranium refinery plant in Blind River.

SPEAKER_03 6:02

Wow. Okay. It moves pretty quickly for you back then. Um, so this this forestry equipment, this forestry equipment stuff that you were fixing or building back in the day, like what would a typical day look like for you doing that?

SPEAKER_01 6:16

I worked in uh sub-assemblies and it was all flux core welding. So it was uh pretty hot back in the day. They gave us salt pills. There was a salt pill dispenser on the way into work and uh no gator aid stations. Yeah, and yeah, it was uh it was pretty hot welding inside the cab of a uh skitter or something uh in the middle of the summer welding flux core.

SPEAKER_03 6:44

Yeah, yeah, I believe, and probably pretty smoky.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Yes, you couldn't see very far down the shop due to the smoke, you're right.

SPEAKER_03 6:54

Yeah, and and masks weren't uh pretty prevalent back then because I mean, even to this day, when I started welding, no one's wearing a mask.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

That's true, and I think it was probably 10 years into welding before I started wearing a respirator all the time, and it did make a big difference.

SPEAKER_03 7:15

Yeah, you're not going home and having those black boogers every day, right? That's right. So you mentioned also working for uh a refinery, it was at uranium, yeah.

Pipe Welding Reality Check

SPEAKER_01 7:28

It was the it was the El Dorado Uranium refinery plant. It was under construction in Blind River, Ontario, and uh I was there as a pipe welder, rewelded stainless. It was uh it was kind of scary, I'll be honest. I was probably petrified the first few months I worked there just because it was all new to me. There's a lot of pressure. I mean, every weld is x-rayed. Um, obviously, I was the only woman there, and there was hundreds of men. So it was it was intimidating, I'll be honest, but uh it was uh really, really good money, and the work was interesting. After a few months, though, they uh they had uh uh they laid off some of the workers, and I was on a travel permit, so I got laid off, and then I decided that maybe pipe welding wasn't my dream job. I there's a lot of standing around, and that really frustrated me. You have to do a lot of waiting and standing around in the field when you're waiting for a fitter or or you know, an inspector. So I moved to the Kitchener Waterloo area and I got a job in a custom fab shop, which suited me better because I really liked um fabricating things and seeing it from start to finish.

SPEAKER_03 8:43

Yeah, you're not lazy. So we know that. That's crazy. So you were basically building that plant, you weren't working in it while it was live. Because my my thought was when I heard uranium, you've got their radioactive materials. Like, did you feel it was dangerous even building the place?

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Uh no, it was uh I was only there during the construction. I wasn't there, and it didn't uh run for very long either. So it's been mothballed for a long, long time. But uh just the the standing around I did not like. And I suppose uh, you know, other pipe building jobs would be different, but for me, that was uh it was my dream to become a pipe welder, but it wasn't really my dream job after all.

SPEAKER_03 9:30

No, I'm the same way. Like if I do something for too long, it becomes monotonous, it becomes boring, and I have to do something else. I'm always having to figure something else out or you know, build something new or try something new. So you went into a fabrication shop from there.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Yes, I worked there for six years and I actually did an apprenticeship as a back then it was called Welder Fitter. Now it's split into two separate trades, metal fabricator and welder. But at the time it was called Welder Fitter. So I do have my certificate of apprenticeship as a welder fitter, and I got that in 1986. All the training was uh after work, they had people come in to do welding theory, blueprint reading, stuff like that. And I think the only reason to be honest, why the employer set that up is because there was incentives from the government that they would pay. I don't quote me on the numbers, but I believe it was up to$4 an hour per person that they signed up as an apprentice. So it was a big incentive for companies to do that back then.

Apprenticeship Pathways And Barriers

SPEAKER_03 10:34

Mm-hmm. I wonder if they started doing that today, if people would be hiring more apprentices, because I've heard it's a little tough out there for apprentices.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

I agree 100%. So at the college that I teach at now, we have approximately 200 welding students, and that's not including apprenticeship students, uh, 20% of which are female right now. And when you ask, you know, how many people want an apprenticeship, half the class will put up their hand, but there's nowhere for them to get an apprenticeship. And I really think, um, in my opinion, that the government should do more to fund uh the employers or to give employers more incentives to bring apprentices on, because as soon as they hear, you know, you have to leave to go to school one day a week for three years, well, sorry, we don't want you. And and I think the the employers don't really understand, you know, what it's all about. And and there are tax incentives available to them, but I think if you, you know, made it uh more worth your while, they would bring on more people.

SPEAKER_03 11:40

I agree because some people look at it where if you're an employer, training takes time and you need a qualified person to train an apprentice, which means you're taking one of your qualified people kind of off the floor. You're you're stopping the flow, but it's that mentality that that is going to stop that company short going forward because you don't have any new people, you don't have anyone learning. And so what they got to go to school for two months out of the year, whatever it may be. But if the government stepped up, it's like, well, you're not losing any money, then why not?

SPEAKER_01 12:14

And I've also heard from employers when I try to speak to them about it, they'll say, Well, I'll just train them as an apprentice and then they're gonna leave. And my reply is, Well, if you don't train them, they're gonna stay. So what do you want? You know, educated trained workers or not?

SPEAKER_03 12:31

No, you're absolutely right. Yeah. Oh my. Um, so going back a little bit, just you know, just to focus a bit about your coming up in welding, being the only woman in most of the shops or workplaces that you went to, um, what was the culture like back then for a woman in the trades?

Teaching, Red Seal, And Career Shift

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Well, I have to say the first two jobs I had, uh, everybody was very welcoming it. And uh, you know, the older men especially would share their knowledge and they they were very accepting. I think when I got a job at my first big place, which was Timberjack, there was, you know, a couple hundred welders there. I probably had about five hours of interviews and they asked me every question under the sun. Uh, what will you do with those lovely curls? Uh you know, meaning what are we, what are you gonna do with hair? Uh, will you date any of the guys in the shop? Uh, they asked me so many questions and I just answered them. And then there was a lady in HR who really, I think, went to bat for me and pushed them to hire me. But once I I started there, you know, at break time, you could I could see people going by my work to look at my welds and stuff. But I think as long as you know you can do the job and show up every day and do your best, um, I I didn't have any problems there at all. No. The I guess I've been lucky throughout my whole career. I've had uh had really good jobs and really amazing mentors. So, but again, yeah, the interview process was probably the hardest. Uh one place I followed up with a phone call when I sent a resume, and the guy said, I'm not hiring any women. I hired one and she slept with half the guys in the shop, so I'll never hire another one.

SPEAKER_03 14:21

So that's the kind of uh feedback you get. That that really stuck with that guy. Ooh. I mean, you people are people, right? It's it could be anyone. Yeah, um, I because I had a follow-up question because you mentioned mentors. Like, was there anyone specific? Was there a woman or was there uh a male that was that sticks with you to this day that was a mentor of yours?

SPEAKER_01 14:47

Absolutely. He's uh long since passed, but his name was Don Houk, and he uh was when I first started, the guys in the shop said, Don't talk to Don, don't try and borrow his tools. He's a grouchy old man. And I worked in a bay beside him. And uh I soon learned that Don would certainly lend out his tools as long as you returned them at the end of the day, and he was so helpful and taught me so much stuff. Uh, so yeah, he he was probably the best mentor I ever had.

SPEAKER_03 15:20

That's simple, right? The way to a man's heart is to return his tools.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

Print his return his tools, that's right. And don't have any weld spatter on them.

SPEAKER_03 15:31

So was there like, sorry, where was this? Where were you working at the time? That was the Timberjacks?

SPEAKER_01 15:36

Uh no, that place was called Tracon Engineering, and it was in Waterloo. Uh, we made a lot of uh control panels for Ontario Hydro. And the interesting thing about that job was that even though it was a union shop, they spread the workers around. So we got to use the shear, the press, the strip it machine. Uh, we got to do a bit of everything and then fabricate the parts. And uh yeah, it was a really interesting job because you're moving around and learning new things. But much to my husband's dismay, I leave my job every six years because I get bored and move on to something else. I just get my three weeks' holidays and he'll say, Really? You're going back to two weeks.

SPEAKER_03 16:22

Well, you gotta keep the mind fresh, right? Always something new and exciting. So there's a little note that I read up on you that you were one of the first three women in Ontario to earn your red seal in welding. Uh, that's uh what did that milestone do for you personally?

Metallurgy, Robotics, And Continuous Learning

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Well, I was was proud of myself. I mean, you know, just the fact that you completed something and uh it was uh not available when I did my apprenticeship, so I didn't actually get my red seal till 2006 or seven. Yeah. Another faculty member at the college, we decided we were gonna uh complete that. So we practiced because we had to pass our all position stick tickets at the time. Yep. And uh yeah, it was it's rewarding and also it gives me the experience to share knowledge to students who are interested in pursuing an apprenticeship or doing their red seal um since I've been through it and uh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:23

Oh, that's awesome. I had I got my red seal in 2008, so it's that that's kind of crazy to me that there was only three women in Ontario in 2006 that had their journey persons.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

But it's a voluntary trade in Ontario, so I again it's it's difficult to get an apprenticeship in the first place. Uh I do teach a bit in the apprenticeship program now, and it is encouraging because there's usually it's a class of 18 students, and there's now there's typically anywhere from one to three students in in each uh level of apprenticeship. So that's pretty encouraging. Yeah, and I don't know what the numbers are now, but I'm sure they're much higher.

SPEAKER_03 18:11

Good, glad to hear it. So having the red seal, did it do anything for you professionally? Did it open up doors or because you said the trade was voluntary or it still is in Ontario?

SPEAKER_01 18:23

Uh so at the time I had just finished uh program at Conslow College. I went back to school in 2004. I got exempt from first year, but I did the second year and third year of the uh it was called Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology, Welding, and Robotics. So I did year two and year three. I graduated in 2006. And fortunate for me, there was a full-time position open at the college, and I applied and I got that job. So the Red Seal allowed me to teach in the apprenticeship program for one thing, and uh along with my other qualifications. But the Red Seal uh is a component of uh requirement for people teaching in in apprenticeship.

SPEAKER_03 19:07

Right. That makes sense. You should be qualified to teach. So what inspired you to transition from the shop to the classroom?

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Well, I like I said, I I was a welder, welder fitter, pipe welder, and then I actually worked in sales for six years. I worked for a place called Tri-County Welding Supplies. Uh it was they sold uh air for air-like gases and and Miller equipment. And I worked there for again six years. That's my number. Then I just decided that I wanted to go back to school. Uh I think working in sales and seeing uh really what was out there and you know meeting people, solving problems, that was uh it was really rewarding, but it also uh encouraged me to go back to school because I wanted to learn more. So that's why I went back to school.

SPEAKER_03 20:03

Awesome. We're gonna stop here for a short little break to hear from our podcast sponsors. So hang tight.

Women’s Workshops And Access To Trades

SPEAKER_00 20:10

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SPEAKER_03 20:52

Welcome back with my special guest, Laura Poche. Now, Laura, you mentioned that you went back to school, like you never really stopped learning, bettering yourself, and you talked about um robotics, and and I think there's something in there about metallurgy. Um is that did I hear that right?

SPEAKER_01 21:14

Yeah, well, I in the course at Conestoga, yeah, there is a metallurgy component. It was um uh a three-year program, and now it's split. We have one that is or we have two programs actually. So one is for inspection, more geared towards inspection, and one is for welding and robotics. Uh, I did do a metallurgy program part-time at uh my master university. So I graduated from there in 2012. It was uh two years of night school, and uh because I did have an interest in metallurgy and still do, I teach metallurgy to the second year engineering students. So again, uh a really huge proponent of continuous learning. And I really think that even though I've been in this trade for Over 45 years, uh, there's still something to learn. It's uh it's really rewarding that way because there's always something new that that's out there.

SPEAKER_03 22:10

Absolutely. I I feel it in myself. Like I've been at the same shop for 20 years, and at some point, you know, I wasn't learning anything or doing anything different. So I started, you know, reaching out to people and trying to up my skills as well, you know, started making videos, started this podcast hosting stuff. Now I'm going into my inspectors. I'm gonna get my level one inspectors, and I I'm just about, I don't know, 25%, 30% into the course. And like my mind is just opening up like crazy. And I'm just getting into the metallurgy stuff myself. So, like, how does how does your understanding of metallurgy and robotics uh change the way you teach your students?

SPEAKER_01 22:51

Well, hopefully I inspire them to realize how much impact metallurgy has in welding when you when you create a weld, all the things that could possibly go wrong uh by you know, lack of preheat, or there's there's so many things that they need to know about metallurgy as a welder and as an inspector as well. And uh we have fairly nice metallurgy lab at the college, so they do a lot of sample prep. And I'm not too much into robotics, to be honest. I um I like the inspection and metallurgy side piece of it a little bit more than I did the robotics side, but I mean that is very big, and we do have uh uh you know lots of there is lots of opportunities for people to do, you know, additive wire manufacturing, and we have a lot of students that are very interested in that. So that's also a uh another pathway you can take.

SPEAKER_03 23:48

So speaking of teaching, can you tell us about the program that you run at Conestoga?

Building Confidence And Safety Foundations

SPEAKER_01 23:54

So I retired about almost six years ago from full-time teaching because I got promoted to be a grandmother. So I now have three grandkids. Uh so I still teach three days a week, but I have uh two days a week that off no contact, so I can uh babysit. I have the best of both worlds.

SPEAKER_03 24:16

That is amazing. So I do teach Yeah, there was that six-year mark again.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

Yes, yes. The uh well, I'm not gonna get sick of the grandkids. I'm not gonna leave them behind after six years.

SPEAKER_03 24:28

You'll just get another one after six years.

unknown 24:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:33

No, three three is good. Um, the the courses that I teach are in the uh engineering technology stream. Uh in the second year mostly I teach. I do teach some first year stuff, uh weld theory and weld quality. And then I usually finish off May and June with the uh apprentices. And I did for quite a number of years, I ran a women's welding workshop. It was a Saturday workshop a few times a year where women could come for the day and make some garden art and just learn the basics about MiG welding. And I did another course uh that I created called Girls Garage Tonight. So we made uh lots of crafts and they did some just stuck to MIG welding because really, in that length of time, it would be uh a little bit difficult to learn everything. But um, yeah, they made a lot of really interesting projects and uh at least gave them uh a chance to try welding. That was my initial goal when I started that in I think 2010, or Lavin, I started that. And it just gave women an opportunity to come and try welding. And we have, you know, from that program uh gained a lot of uh full-time students that they liked the workshop and actually ended up enrolling in uh one of the full-time programs.

SPEAKER_03 25:53

That's amazing. I find that it's not just you know, like kids, men, women, but as soon as you try a trade, as soon as you try welding, anyways, it just and I it's it's a pun, but it definitely sparks something in you. You know, and now you hear about high schools getting rid of their welding program, their automotive program, all this stuff is just leaving the high schools. Where do people ever get to try a trade? So it's great that you have these programs that you can actually light an arc.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

Yeah, I agree. That's uh welding is a really expensive program to run, obviously. And uh, there's probably lots of liability involved for high schools, but uh yeah, it is unfortunate because it's I think a young person has an opportunity to try it, then they might find that they like it and want to pursue something. And welding is such a transferable skill. I mean, iron workers, mill rights, plumbers, even carpenters have to do a welding component in their apprenticeship program. So it is uh a valuable skill to have. And when you have a welding machine in your garage, you know, you have a lot of friends.

SPEAKER_03 27:00

Oh man, that is true. That is very true. Maybe too many friends. And I mean, with the with the availability of technology today, too, like you can find a decent welding machine for like three, four hundred bucks. So you have someone like yourself showing you how to set it up, showing you how to run a pass. Who knows what you could do?

SPEAKER_01 27:21

Yeah, absolutely. It's uh pretty easy to set up a small welding machine in a in a garage. Just don't tell your insurance company, right?

Workplace Culture Today And Flexibility

SPEAKER_03 27:30

Oh man, we're on a podcast. Uh what are we gonna do? Okay, SGI, you know, turn off, turn off your camera, please. So so how how do you build confidence uh in a student who may be intimidated by the arc or the the molting metal? Because these are fresh people that you're you're teaching.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

Well at a in a college setting, it's pretty safe. I mean, it's uh uh you know a contained welding booth, there's ventilation. We do review a lot of uh safety with them, obviously, before they go into the shop and you know, review proper equipment. And we don't, you know, tolerate people not wearing safety glasses or things like that. So the safety aspect is there. Uh, I mean, there's obviously people who, you know, have tried welding and decided it wasn't for them, and and that's okay. But for the most part, especially with women, what I find is when they've already made a commitment to sign up for a welding program, they're pretty committed and dedicated to seeing it through, I have to say. Um, but yeah, there are people who, you know, we've had people who, for example, really like blueprint reading and AutoCAD and solid work. So, you know, they, you know, left to pursue something in that field. So uh I always say, even if you, you know, don't like it per se, at least finish out your semester or if you can finish out the year, because there's a lot of you know, soft skills that you'll learn and the accomplishment of finishing something, and you never know, you know, in the future you might need a plan B.

SPEAKER_03 29:13

And it's a pretty decent plan B. Um, you know, like there's lots of money to be made out there as a tradesperson. Uh, and I've always been a big, you know, a big supporter of I don't care who you are, what background you are, man or woman, is can you do the job? Are you qualified to do the job? So on that aspect, we talked about how the culture was back in your day coming up. What do you think the culture is like now?

Tech, Safety, And Tool Evolution

SPEAKER_01 29:40

I think it's better. I mean, there's always gonna be people who, you know, don't want women in the in their workplace, but for the most part, I think it's changed a lot. And I will say, you know, getting feedback from employers, a lot of them will say that that women hate to be cliche, but have more attention to detail and and uh are committed. The only thing that is a drawback, in my opinion, for women today is the lack of flexibility and hours. Uh that's the the big thing that I hear from students. You know, we had a a woman, she came back to school, she was a little bit older, and she graduated from the two-year fabrication program, top of her class, smart, smart girl. And she was offered a job, but she had to start at 7 a.m. She didn't have daycare till 7:30 a.m. So the company said, sorry, we're not going to hire you. She got a job at another company that said, Hey, no problem. You come in at 7:38 and uh you just stay a half an hour late, no problem. And she's still there, and it's been like six years. So that's one thing that I think uh is still lacking uh for men too. I mean, men have children and daycare issues too. So it's not just a problem for women, but that's the biggest complaint I hear from from especially female students, is the lack of flexibility in hours.

SPEAKER_03 31:08

I was gonna follow up with uh do you have any advice that you would give employers who truly want women in their shop, like beyond just hiring them? And we just touched on a little bit of flexibility in the hours, but is there anything else that you could think of?

SPEAKER_01 31:24

Oh, have a clean bathroom and equal pay for equal work. That's about uh and and offer continuous learning because I I think when an employer offers, you know, to reimburse people for taking night school classes that pertain to their job, you know, there's nothing wrong with having a more educated workforce. And it will keep somebody uh, I think in their position longer if they have that ability to uh to have some ability to go to school, maybe, or uh take them on as an apprentice, or you know, offer flexibility in hours.

SPEAKER_03 32:02

Yeah, that makes sense. And like I it's weird to hear you say that there's still a discrepancy in in the pay. Like it's a it's a skilled trade that we just talked about. Can you do the job? Are you qualified to do the job? And there's still that discrepancy.

SPEAKER_01 32:16

Mm-hmm. There is. Well, in a union shop, you're that's not gonna happen, but in a in a non-union shop, uh and I would say uh it definitely still happens.

SPEAKER_03 32:31

That's too bad. So everyone out there listening, stop doing that. So Laura, you've witnessed massive changes over the years in technology safety culture. Um what evolution in the trade excites you the most?

SPEAKER_01 32:49

I kind of laugh because back when I first started, uh the blueprint was on the back of uh export A package that the guy would hand you here, build this.

SPEAKER_03 33:02

Hey, that still happens. That still happens. I get napkin drawings to this day, but continue.

Advice For Women Entering The Trades

SPEAKER_01 33:10

So I think uh just you know, in a lot of fab shops now, they've come a long way where you know they even have uh like uh they use SOLIDWORKS uh to you know to show the design, especially when it's something cylindrical, if there's a lot of nozzles or things on it, valves and stuff, it's it's sometimes hard to read a drawing. So I think in that way they've come a long way. And also obviously automation has come a long way. Um safety, incredible. When uh I can share the one company I worked at, we welded a lot of stainless steel cabinets and we had to spray them with anti-spatter spray. So this was in 1984, 85, 86, and a lot of us were getting sick, and they said, Well, it's because you're welding stainless steel. So here, wear this respirator. Well, we were still getting headaches, nosebleeds. And it turns out that the anti-spatter spray was the problem. It was actually when heated to decomposition, it it created phosgene gas. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:14

That's not good for you.

SPEAKER_01 34:16

Not good for you, no, and that was that was sold by a welding supply company. So they obviously it's no longer uh sold, but back in the day, they that's what it was. And it took a lot of uh time and and investigation to figure out how to uh to get some anti-spatter spray in the shop that that could do the job. And uh we also had to wear uh big respirators with like charcoal filters and p100 filters. Back in those days, our helmets were much bigger, they're not the really nice tapered helmets you have now. And those respirators would fit under there, so uh yeah, that uh that that's a big change in my opinion. Uh safety and even helmet design, you know, uh we only had two by four flip front helmets uh made of fiberglass that weighed a ton. And now they're really lightweight auto-darking. You pick one up for like three dollars at Princess Auto. So that that's a huge change. I worked in sales when the first uh auto-darkening helmets came out, and they were around$450 to buy them, just uh you know, a low-end one at that time. So that's that's big.

SPEAKER_03 35:32

Yeah, that's awesome. I remember buying my first auto darkening helmet, and it was a 3M, I think, when they first came out, their first model, and I paid$650 for it. Uh it was like four years later, and it broke, the faceplate broke on it. So I went, well, I could maybe re I could maybe replace this part, and the part was six six hundred bucks. Like, what are we looking here? But nowadays it's a lot better.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Yeah, and uh it is, and actually, I still prefer welding with uh like a fixed lens with a glass cover plate. You can see the weld a lot better. So that's one thing I always encourage the students to try with my old school helmet and an auto-darkening helmet and see if you notice a difference in the arc.

SPEAKER_03 36:19

That's a really good thing to do because a lot of people that just weld with an auto-darkening lens, when that thing fails, they do not know what to do. Uh, you know, you're out in the sun and you're getting backflashed, your helmet's not working. Well, the fixed shade's gonna help you out there. For sure. And I always like I know they're fast, I know they, you know, those light sensors they switch quickly, but there is that that little microsecond that you're getting the arc. I, you know, so wear your safety glasses underneath your helmet.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

Good advice.

SPEAKER_03 36:49

So for young women who are unsure if they belong in the trades, what would you say to them?

Mentorship, Joy In Teaching, Closing

SPEAKER_01 36:58

I would say go to your nearest community college and ask if you can audit a class. Um, I'm always open to students or people coming in and auditing a class just to see what it's like, or sign up for uh Learn to Weld class. A lot of them have uh offer that now. Uh the other thing you can do is uh, you know, if there's an employer that you're aware of and research what their company does, go talk to them, ask if you can have a tour of the shop, ask questions. Uh be curious. Like you uh that's the big thing, I think, is just be curious and uh get any chance you can or opportunity to go and try a trade, whether it's welding or electrical plumbing. Uh, we do a thing at the college called Jill of Trades. I believe it's across North America now, but it's a day where high school girls come. Usually there's about 250 of them, and they have uh stations all set up through the college where they can try uh welding, some carpentry electrical, they can change a tire, uh, do some machining. So that's uh a good opportunity again for for young women to try things.

SPEAKER_03 38:12

And what about the attitude or the, you know, if they come in thinking that the world isn't ready for a woman welder or the shops out there aren't going to hire me, what would you say to that?

SPEAKER_01 38:26

Well, you the way I look at that is uh you could work in uh an office with a hundred women and it might not be the right fit for you, even though it's all women. And I I personally feel it's the same thing when you work in a shop that's all men. Some shop might not be the right fit for you, so you just have to find one that is, and and that applies to both men and women, really, but uh you know, you have to find a company, and you can only do that by researching and asking questions. Uh, if you can, like I said, get a tour of the company, uh, ask questions of the HR person, or if you could, you know, speak to the uh supervisor or foreman and uh and ask, just ask questions and get a get a tour. You will know by the end of that whether it's a welcoming place to work or not.

SPEAKER_03 39:17

That's great advice. So what is next for you? Are we creeping up on the next six-year mark? What what what do you got planned for the future?

SPEAKER_01 39:26

Uh well, I really like where I'm at. So I would like to stay. I mean, I'm turning 67 in a couple of months, but I still I still love my job. I I really truly love the students. I like their uh their you know curiosity. Um, I I like hearing, you know, about where they're working in their part-time jobs. I like watching them over three years when they're in the three-year technology program, you know, mature and and go out and get good jobs. So it's really, really rewarding for me to do that. And also when students come back after a number of years, hey, I got my red seal, or hey, you know, look where I'm working now. I I really, really like that part of it. And obviously, with uh with grandkids, uh, every day is an adventure. So uh that's a lot of fun. So I feel like I have the best of both worlds right now, and I really like the place on the map.

SPEAKER_03 40:28

Well, good for you, and congratulations. You've uh had a lovely career, and I'm glad that there are people like you teaching uh the young people out there because we need we need more teachers, we need more qualified teachers, we need passionate people in those positions. So thank you for that. Um I guess we can wrap it up. Is there a final thought that you want to leave our listeners with?

SPEAKER_01 40:53

Um, just for anybody entering the trades, but especially women, be curious, uh have a sense of humor, uh, keep an open mind and uh really embrace continuous learning. And I, you know, don't be afraid to go into a shop and uh ask questions. Don't be afraid to go to your community college, ask questions. And uh I like to say I've you know people sometimes are a little bit afraid of, you know, well, don't men talk dirty or mean or anything, and I like to say I've heard more dirty jokes in the women's locker room at the gym than I ever had heard on the work site. So all right.

SPEAKER_03 41:35

Well, thank you very much. Um, this has been a great episode. Thank you, Laura, for uh sharing all that knowledge with us. Stay tuned, we've got episodes dropping weekly. This is the CWB Association Welding Podcast. Thanks very much for listening.

SPEAKER_02 42:05

You've been listening to the CWB Association Welding Podcast. If you enjoyed what you heard today, rate our podcast and visit us at CWBassociation.org to learn more. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions on what you'd like to learn about in the future. Please subscribe and thank you for listening.