One Brick at a Time: Mikayla Hannesschlager's Journey of Confidence and Competition

In this episode, we chat with Mikayla Hannesschlager, gold medalist in Bricklaying at the 2025 Provincial Skills Canada Competition and proud member of Team Alberta at the 2025 Skills Canada National Competition in Regina. Mikayla shares her journey into the skilled trades, growing up in a family of bricklayers and finding her own path in refractory work—carving a unique space in a field where her family specializes in red brick.

She opens up about the training and mentorship that shaped her success, the importance of having women role models in the trades, and how confidence plays a key role in both competition and career. Mikayla also offers practical advice for anyone looking to explore bricklaying or step into the competition world.

Plus, she gives us a look ahead at her next big challenge: representing Canada at a union bricklaying competition this fall in Detroit!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome to Skills and Thrills, Alberta's Trade and Tech Youth Podcast My Skills Canada, Alberta. We feature the stories of skills alumni through sharing their competition experiences and how those moments shape their careers. Through casual, unscripted conversations, we explore the journeys behind the skills and the paths that followed. I'm Danny and I'll be your host. Let's dive into today's episode. Today our special guest is Michaela Hanneschleiger. Michaela competed at the 2025 Provincial Skills Canada competition in Bricklang and took home gold, earning her a spot on Team Alberta, where she would later compete at the 2025 Skills Canada National Competition in Regina. Hey Michaela, how are you doing? How are you? I'm doing good, thanks. I guess we'll jump right into it. Yeah, I was I'm very excited to receive that email. I was like, no way. Yay! It's so fun to chat with everyone about their experiences with skills. So I'm excited to chat about yours. Yeah, me too. What first drew you to Bricklang?

SPEAKER_01 1:13

Honestly, when I moved to Alberta, I had no interest in any of the trades whatsoever. I was gonna go to university to hopefully get like a teaching degree. And I needed money. So my dad got me a job in the Shaw, just being a laborer, just helping out. And I saw the bricklayers on the saws, and I was like, damn, that seems really cool. This would be a very cool experience to try. So I asked him and I was like, hey, how does somebody get into this? And then he kind of just helped me get my feet in the door and sent me off on my way. But I'm also a very hands-on person, so it's yeah, kind of wanted to do something hands-on, anyways, to start.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

So who got you into a bricklaying? Your dad, you said, or yeah. Yeah, awesome. So how did that go? Did he already have a lot of experience in bricklaying or just in construction in general?

SPEAKER_01 2:10

Yeah, I'm like a third generation bricklayer. So my grandma's a bricklayer, my uncle's a bricklayer, my dad's a bricklayer, and they all started in red brick. I'm the only one who started in refractory, which is kind of the main difference between us. But yeah, they were all brickies and kind of just run to the blunt.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Cool. Do you mind explaining the difference between refractory and red brick?

SPEAKER_01 2:37

So red brick is more like commercial and like residential. So building like houses and schools, chimneys, and pretty much if you drive around the block, anything you see that's brick, that is the red brick side. Refractory is very industrial, working inside of vessels and units on a lot of sites. So oil and gas, energy, pretty much anything industrial with high heat, that's what we do.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

So would the bricks and materials be a little bit different to withstand that kind of stuff?

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Yeah, pretty much.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Some of the units they get like in refractory, we don't use just brick, we use like ceramic fiber as one of our materials, and they have to withstand over 18,000 degrees. It gets very, very hot in those units, and we have to have materials that can withstand that.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Oh interesting. I didn't know there were two different sides. Could you go more into where people would see red brick and refractory in their daily lives?

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Well, you'd probably see red brick just like red brick could be anything from just seeing like a fireplace in a house, or just seeing like when you pass a school and you drive past the school and see all the bricks there, a lot of churches that you drive by, or that's very a lot of brick laying there. Any pretty much old historical building is brick. In refractory, you don't really see it too much in your daily life. But I did remember in school we talked about like the origins of refractory and like anything that is clay, like ceramic mugs and things like that, in order to fire those in a kiln, that that requires refractory. Yeah, even the NASA, their spaceships, whatever, we have to use modules on that. Like that's part refractory that goes into getting those to be able to withstand the heat going up. Okay. So no that's so cool every day, but yeah, just every day, probably anytime you look at a ceramic mug or something, you can think about the kiln that it needed to be dried in is probably made of refractory.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

That's so cool. I always want to ask because I feel like people don't really realize sometimes like how much all the trades and tech really go into everyday life. So it's really interesting to look around and be like, oh, like that had something to do with bricklaying or the refractory side of bricklaying, and that is so cool that that exists because of that.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

So yeah, there's a lot then, especially with the refractory side that people don't even realize comes from refractory. It's definitely worth a Google search if you're like into history, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Yeah, it's so cool just like seeing where things come from and why they can withstand the heat and all that kind of stuff. So yeah, cool. Do you mind telling us how you got into skills and the competitions?

SPEAKER_01 5:40

The first time I was in my second year of Bricklay, and I didn't go to the first in my first year because I was gonna go to that skills competition. I thought about it, but I really did not trust my skill level, and I was like, No, I can't do this. I'm refractory. And then in second year, my instructor Derek he came up and he wasn't pushing me, but he was like, he really wanted me to go. He saw something that I probably didn't see, and he really wanted to take me forward and to get me to do it. So I signed up, and then I got nervous and I tried to back out. And I sent the lady an email and she took me out, she withdrawed me. Derek came back like a week and a half later, and he told me I'm still signed up for it. He was like, Do you still want to do it? I was like, I really think you should. I was like, I guess, I guess, you know, kind of too late to back out now. So I went and tried it, and I didn't finish that first first time I tried it. I didn't finish it, but it was a very, very, very fun experience, and then it made me want to do it again next year, which is the one I just did. Oh, nice. I just did the provincials, but it was so very cool. Okay, we did pizza oven that year, like the front of a pizza oven. Oh, cool, yeah. I remember that. Yeah, that's a little arch and it and everything. It's kind of cool.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

So, yeah, this past year you won gold and then you went to nationals. Can you tell us about that experience and what it was like to prep for provincials? To prep for provincials, I'll be honest.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

I was able to like physically practice and prep for it because I could go in and we have a shop where Derek was like helping me practice a couple components. Because they give for like for provincials itself, they give everybody a blueprint that we could go off of for practicing the build, but they're allowed to change up to 30% of that build so that everyone has something in there that they weren't expecting, and it kind of evens the playing field, since some people could have more practicing time than others. But yeah, I just did a lot of practice for it, and then I tried to sleep and tried to eat, and I stressed a lot about it, and I think that it was a healthy level of stress because it got me through it. Yeah, yeah, no, just put your head down to practice when I had the opportunities. Gone in there and did it.

SPEAKER_00 8:10

It's just about practice and making sure you're able to do as much as possible within that time limit that they give you.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

So, right, yeah, timing is a huge thing in those projects.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Definitely a huge time management learning skill for sure.

SPEAKER_01 8:25

Yeah. That honestly, skills has taught me, if it's taught me anything, it has been like time management. Yeah. Well, it's one thing you don't expect, like it's it seems like a lot of time until you're in it. And then six hours goes by and you're like looking around, like, oh my gosh, I haven't even got half the project built.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

It's a scary moment. I always think if I was competing, I would be so caught up in like what other people are doing.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

That's why I was actually glad at nationals that we all picked out of a hat name, yeah, for who got what station, like one through eight or something. And I got the last or second to last pick, and I picked the first station. So for the first day, I was facing them all, which I didn't like that because I could see everyone's like progress, which made me rush and you know, get in my head a little. But on the second day, I was facing the other way because I was on the end, had nobody to look at other than the obvious bypassers. I was just able to put my head down and not worry about what's going on behind me or where they are. I could just focus on what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Yeah.

unknown 9:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

I feel like you kind of just need to put yourself into a bubble and focus on what you're working on. I would just need to like tune out everything.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

If you put foam earplugs in, yeah, it kind of makes everything sound like it's underwater, and then you're pretty much just able to it's all muffled and you don't have to listen to it.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Yeah, that's super helpful. Do you mind going through the difference between provincials and nationals and what that competition looks like for bricklaying?

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Yeah, in provincials, it was one project, and we had 12 hours to finish it. So between two days, but it was only one project, and it was a Dela Rabbi panel, which is pretty much just interlocking bricks that go like vertical and then horizontal, and they got little gaps in between in the middle. You'll have to look it up to see what I mean, but it's a very, very uh pretty project, and it's like the only technical aspects to it was that panel and that feature in it, plus the big heavy pieces of Tyndall Stone that were using as the picture frame for that. And then in nationals, it kind of took a whole big step, and it was two projects, six hours each, and you were not allowed to go back to work on another project if you finished the second day early, was whatever you got done in that day, was what you got done. And the first project had a lot of cuts. I think it was like over 80 cuts or something, they said, which is a lot, especially when there's only four saws and eight people, and we're all doing the same project at the same time. And the second day was a big inverted arch. It was kind of like coin, which is pretty much when you have a couple courses of bricks that are flush, and then you have a course of brick that steps back in a little bit, and then you have another couple courses that step back out, and it pretty much just creates this like step out, step-in pattern. Yeah, and then there was a whole row of soldier brick, which is just brick flipped up, right? Yeah, and that was it was a lot more technical, and there was definitely not enough time, in my opinion. Well, actually, that's it's doable, it is very, very, very doable, but you just have to forgive a lot to make that time, yeah. But yeah, the the main difference is the size of the builds and the timing.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

They looked very intricate. I was oh my gosh, I can't imagine doing that in just six hours, like especially that first one. Because it means so many.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

No, oh no, no, we did not get along at all. I've never used a mitered saw either, so that was a big learning curve for me.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Oh yeah, I remember you saying that, just like we hadn't used one before. Um, were there any other challenges during these competitions that you came across?

SPEAKER_01 12:27

Yeah, I uh when I practiced for that first project that had all those cuts and all those angles, I used a protractor in the shop. And in my head, I went, you know what? I'm gonna go buy an angle finding uh digital tea bevel thing. And it pretty much is just a t-bevel that tells you what angle it's at, like digitally, to save myself time. I thought if I had that, I could just set it and have that angle set. Now, that was probably the worst decision I ever made in skills because when the day came to use it, I had absolutely no idea how to use the thing. And I got stuck in a mental block for 40 minutes and just about gave up until I had an aha moment. But it was probably the worst part of the whole skills thing was that one tool I had no idea how to use. I thought it was gonna save me time, it did not.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Yeah. Was that like the biggest challenge then?

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Yeah, just because that started the mental blocks of being like, you know, just I knew it was taking me too much time to figure it out, and then I got frustrated, and there's all these people looking at you, staring at you, take photos and things, and then it just started the cycle of I bit off way more than I can chew. And it started with that angle finder, but it just built up into that. And I think I spent it must have been 40 minutes just sitting there, like, oh my gosh, what am I gonna do? Like, how did I do this in practice? How do I make this feel like a protractor? Yeah, and then I think I just had a moment in my head and it clicked, and I was able just to move on after that.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

That's good. I'm glad you were able to move past that and be like, nope, we got this. We can, you know, do a lot we can do.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Yeah. You got to be able to move on the competitions. You can't let those mental blocks get to you. You just gotta get that aha moment. Like just retrace your steps if you've practiced it. Just retrace and rethink about how you did it, like what was the process you did, because otherwise you can get very overwhelmed easily, especially with the time crunch involved. So yeah, you just gotta push through those. Can't let those hold you back.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Yeah, for sure. For sure.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

Yeah, be organized too. I cannot put my tape places and then turn around and be like, where did I put my tape? Me and that tape did not have a good time. Did it keep running away?

SPEAKER_00 15:06

You were just like, Where's my tape?

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Yeah, girl legs. Uh-oh. But no, definitely like if you have a tool belt, use it. If you don't, make sure you put everything back where you'll you'll know where it is. You don't want to place it somewhere, turn around, turn back, and not be able to see it. Because I did that one too many times.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

That's so funny. Oh my gosh, I'd probably do the same thing and then be looking for it for like 10 minutes. Oh yeah, I did a couple laps around my project looking for my tape measure at one point. Well, another good tip, everyone, because yeah, you never know, you might lose your tape measure. So, did you have a mentor who really helped you during these competitions? I had, yeah, I did. His name's Derek.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

Forgive me, Derek, if I pronounce this wrong, Qualchek. He was my first year instructor and also one of my second-year instructors. And he has volunteered countless numbers of hours to help me. And I mean, God bless his wife too, because she let him stay out and help me. He just did a lot, he volunteered a lot of his time and his energy into making sure I was prepared, and not only just making sure I was prepared, but making sure I was excited and like mentally ready to go do these things. Yeah. Oh, that's amazing. He's definitely the probably the biggest supporter I had.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

Aw, that's amazing. Yeah. Well, big thanks to Derek because that's amazing to take time out of your day to help someone compete and all that and get prepared for it. So yeah, yeah, he he did a lot. Oh, that's awesome. Did he come with us to Regina?

SPEAKER_01 16:52

He did, yeah. He wasn't able to chaperone me because he was technically part of the like NTCs or something. I'm not sure exactly what his position was, but he was just one of the people who was like doing the running around, making sure everything was set up. Like he he arrived at Nationals probably a week before we got there. Oh, okay. Just to set up and go through plans. One of those people. Oh, that's awesome. He's pretty big in the brick layer, like on the red brick side.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

So oh, that's so awesome. That's amazing. Yeah. Do you have like a favorite memory or moment from your time competing? Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

Favorite memory or favorite moment. I gotta say, when it came to the provincials, my favorite moment was probably standing on that podium and flexing on stage. Yes, I don't know. I thought it was funny. I'm just me. But the fact that I was flexing, it was just the fact that it was like I didn't know how to pose. I'm not a very photogenic person. So I could see in the video of me, I'm like kind of like turning around, like I didn't really know what to do. So I just went, well, screw it, show them my muscles. So that was my favorite, like provincials moment, obviously receiving the medal. But at nationals, it was just completing the one build, getting that one build finished and washed. Like I had to like step back for a moment. It was my favorite moment, like looking back in and being like, damn, I did that. I built that wall, and it's a very sturdy wall. So yeah, it was pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

That first moment you talked about, I was so happy that I got a video of that because I thought it was one of the coolest moments at the awards ceremonies. Like that was so cool.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

Just gonna intimidate the men. What can I say?

SPEAKER_00 18:55

Yes, exactly. Show them your guns. Exactly. I just thought it was so cool that I forget the other guy's name, but he did join in on you doing that. And I loved that he did that. I think his name was Josh. Josh? But I thought it was pretty cool that he joined in with you, and it was such a cool podium moment. So oh yeah, yeah. We had to kill them, you know, rookies are strong. That second moment when I came over and you were done, that first one, I was rooting for you the whole day to finish that second one, and I was so happy for you that you finished it. So yeah, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

Cool moment. I remember like stepping back at one point, like after I'd finished jointing, before I even started cleaning, put my stuff down for a moment and took a breath because it was like it's like you're holding your breath that whole competition, and we only get one break, which is lunch. So you don't really get a chance to actually like breathe. Yeah, your head just is full of okay, what do I gotta do next? Like all these different steps, different things you gotta remember to do, measurements, you know, things are blueprint. But when they call end of the day and you're finished, taking that moment, stepping back, and then you look around and you see all these other people looking, right? Yeah, it's it's a very, very cool feeling, like feeling that moment.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:16

It's so cool to see it all come together from nothing. So yeah. So yeah, we went to National's Regina this year. Do you have any moments from like being on Team Alberta that really stand out?

SPEAKER_01 20:32

Oh, I really like doing the tour and walking around. That was very, very fun. And doing the opening and closing ceremonies, just feeling the energy from everyone. Like everyone was excited, everyone was there to do something for themselves, but also support everybody around them, and also just the friendships you make. Like every single person there has a different story and a different walk through life that they've gone through so far. And at that moment in that week, all of us are together, all part of a different trade, hanging out and representing for our province. It's it's very cool.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

The energy is very there.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

And nothing beats the energy, I think, personally, at the award ceremony when everyone's just like cheering each other on and hoping that you hear all Buddha. It's so fun.

SPEAKER_01 21:24

I know every single time I was like, because if you just looked over to the person next to you, you could see everyone's on the edge of their seat, especially when their like section gets cold. Yeah, it's like you can feel the anticipation, right? Like, did I get it? Did I not get it?

SPEAKER_00 21:39

It's so good. So much fun. Oh, yeah. I wanted to talk about so bricklang tends to be more of a male-dominated trade. For sure. Yeah, what has been your experience as a woman in bricklang?

SPEAKER_01 21:53

There has been good moments and there has been not so good moments. Your factory is a very labor-intensive job. Right? Like you're sweating, you're in a unit with these guys for 12 hours a day. People get tend to get like frustrated and things like that as the time goes on. But I find like some of them are very nice and they treat me very nice, they treat me like a little sister or something like that. And if I can't do something, they'll help me do it. But then there are the people times where it's like I do find I've gotten pushed aside and things like that. But as a woman, if there are other women that want to join this career, you have to push back. You gotta push them back. Stand your ground. The worst they're gonna do is push you back again and just keep getting on your nerves. You gotta plant your feet down every now and again and say, like, hey, like, I'm not that person to be pushed around. And that took me a long time to learn. And I honestly have to thank the trade for that because I probably would not have been as tough as I am now.

SPEAKER_00 23:02

Yeah, no, it it's good advice. It also makes you more confident in yourself and your abilities. Um, and it helps you grow like in that area too. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

And there really isn't like a whole lot of times where I've had to do that. Most of the times it's good. Like most of the time, you got a good crew and everyone's there to look out for everyone. You all want to go home. There's a lot of laughs, and it's it's the energy is there most of the time. It's just the odds. You're in there. Yeah. And normally those people are just having a bad day, and it's all fixed with the conversation.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

Totally. And I feel like that's like with every workplace. I mean, there's always pretty much sometimes that person, you know, but yeah.

unknown 23:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

That's pretty much exactly it.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

Just stick with the people who are good.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. It seems like you've navigated it super well, so that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

I've been in it for almost three years now, and I've only ever been in refractory, so very used to the guys. I love them all, honestly. They're like my brother, you know. Yeah. They're pretty much family.

SPEAKER_00 24:12

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. So how did competing at skills impact your career path and personal growth?

SPEAKER_01 24:22

Um, I've noticed the way people talk to me is different. There's almost a bit of a respecting tone. Just different people I've talked to since I've done this. I've noticed the way that they talk to me is a lot more like professional. Like it's there's a bit more respect. It's not how it used to be. I've also found that I went and did that other skills competition. Or that wasn't skills, but it was just the union one. And I probably wouldn't have done that had it not been for doing skills first, just to build my confidence up. But yeah, it hasn't like there hasn't been too much change yet. It's still very soon. But I just the main thing I've noticed is just the way people talk. Like I feel like I've actually started to build my own name, which is a very nice thing.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

That's awesome. Skills is so impactful because you're learning things from the competition. You're learning with just being in a group like that. Yeah. And yeah, just like cheering everyone on and being in that community. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

No, it's it's very it's it was so fun, honestly. It sucks on it. That was my last year I was age eligible. I read from a distance.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

Yeah.

unknown 25:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:34

You could always join our alumni program.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

Yeah, that is true. That is true. I've had a few people mention that to me so far.

SPEAKER_00 25:40

So yeah, if you want to join our get gathering, you can join us at Provincials every year and talk about your trade in front of students. So yeah, that'd be fun. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

So definitely have to look into that.

SPEAKER_00 25:52

Yeah, for sure. That'd be great. We'd love to have you on talking about bricklaying. So that'd be awesome. Do you have any mentors or role models who inspired you on your journey?

SPEAKER_01 26:02

Yeah, I do. I've got a couple actually, but the first role model I ever had in this industry was Deb. She was one of the first females. I think she might have actually just been the first female to join the union in Refractory. And she pretty much walked so that I could run. Like she's been through it all. And like she is one tough woman. She is the most kind, genuine person I have ever met in my life. And she's just being a woman in the trade, like she has inspired so many other women in our trade just to, you know, be ourselves and not take crap from the guys.

unknown 26:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

Oh, that's amazing. And then my dad, a little bit, obviously, I gotta throw him in there because he's my dad. He's my pa. But he did Red Brick mainly too. And he got me all the tools when I first joined. He was really excited. He's got no daughters, so I'm the closest, or he's got no sons, so I'm the closest thing to a uh son he's got. Right. So yeah. Oh, that's amazing.

unknown 27:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:15

Probably those two. And then Derek's well, Derek is the one who helped me through everything, so he's yeah. He and he's a crazy good bricklayer. Like he's got his own company and everything, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:29

That's awesome. Well, shout out to the mentors and the role models. You guys are awesome. For those currently training or looking to compete in bricklaying, do you have any tips to sharpen their skills to prepare for it?

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Yeah, honestly. Watch some videos, ask questions, you know. If there's something you have not tried before or done before and you don't know if it's gonna pop up in the competition, ask questions. Make sure you've gotten your head wrapped around the idea of what that component is before you go in. Take my angle finder for a reference, make sure you learn how to use your tools before you just go in there with the brand new tool. Um, just just practice, you know, and try not to get overwhelmed. Make sure you're sleeping and you're eating and taking care of your body too, because if your body's not in the right like if if your head's not in the right like headspace for the competition, your body's not gonna be. Right? So like make sure you're taking care of yourself as you're going through with it.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

Yeah, agreed on that. Definitely make sure you're drinking water and eating and doing all the things to make sure that you're prepped for the day. So do you have any other advice for future competitors?

SPEAKER_01 28:51

Have fun. Don't forget to do that, smile, but yeah, no, just have fun with it. I honestly I found as soon as I stopped looking at as a competition and just started saying, Okay, I'm just gonna have fun with it, things went a lot better than they did when I was looking at it as a competition.

SPEAKER_00 29:07

Yeah, have some fun. Yeah, definitely a good reminder because I feel like people just get wrapped up in the competition and so they don't realize that it's also just a thing to have like to do for fun. So well, exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

It's a cool experience, it's once in a lifetime. You know, take that opportunity, just do it, go for it. You never know. Yeah, you never know.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

Believe agreed, yeah. You gotta believe in yourself, guys. You'll you'll you'll do it, you'll go far. It's worth it. I wanted to get more into your job and what the day looks like for your job. Do you mind kind of taking us into what it's like to be a bricklayer in refractory?

SPEAKER_01 29:49

Yeah, so every day is different, but to sum it up in a pretty good way, uh we wake up ridiculously early. Get yourself to sight. Once you're at sight, it depends on where you are. Sometimes you gotta take a bus. Sometimes company vehicle picks you up. You know, put on all your PPE for the day. Typically, you don't have to put your hard hat on right away. All the extra stuff for in the unit, you just leave kind of in dress-up room. We pretty much put on coveralls, monitors, depending on where we are. Sometimes it's just an H2S monitor. Sometimes you need an SO2 monitor, then your boobs. And then we do a safety talk first thing in the morning. Go through what the kind of quota is, but not really the quota. Just kind of what is expected, what we're working on. Right. And as soon as that's done, we all book it down to the unit. If it's the start of the job, normally it's prepping for tarot. And like just making sure we have all the preper tools for everything's organized, ready. Sometimes we just do a little walkthrough to make sure we have everything we need. Um, but then normally at the start of the job, we start off with tarot. Doesn't matter what the job is, we have to rip out all the old material, get rid of it, and then depending on the how the shell looks, you know, clean that up, and then we have to replace all of that as well. So typically it takes up to a month, sometimes just a couple weeks, depending on how big it is. But yeah, we take all the old material out, replace it with new, and then QC inspects it. And if they give us the thumbs up, we close the manways and go. It's not really just a day thing, because if it's just the day thing, we just go in there for 12 hours, sweat, tear out things, and then we repeat that for a few days. If it's castable, we have to take rivet busters and 15 pounders, which are kind of like jackhammers, to like drill out all the material because it's kind of like cement. And just to get it deep enough to the shell. But yeah, if it's castable, we have to rivet bust it out. If it's ceramic fiber, whether it's modules or just blanket, we just literally rip it out with our hands.

unknown 32:17

Right.

SPEAKER_01 32:17

We have to on husky knife or something, you know. But it's very physical. But to replace it for castable, we either have to use or if it's gunite, we use like uh we either dry gun it or wet gun it. And it pretty much just is this giant hose that shoots the material onto the wall. I don't do a lot of those jobs myself because I'm not that strong. So it's very hard for me to do those ones. But they pretty much shoot the wet material all over and then it sticks, and then they cure it. And that's it. It's pretty simple for that one. If it's blanket, we have to remember how the layers are, like how many pieces of pot face, backup, things like that, how thick it's gotta be because it requires more layers. And sometimes we have to spoil depending on what it exactly it is. Yeah. It is nice because it's like most of them are like repetitive, so it's if you've once you've done like for reference an SRU, once you've done an SRU a couple times, you kind of know what to expect. It's not like everything's new, but sometimes special circumstances where you have to know what you've been doing, pretty much, right? Yeah, just to kind of like problem solve. But that's what we got QC for. Yeah. Yeah. So I just do the work.

SPEAKER_00 33:46

Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah, I really love. I mean, just from the competitions and what I've seen, bricklaying is one of like the coolest things to watch and like just watch people do, and even like trying our trade and stuff like that. You can try the trade at our competitions, and everyone has a good time trying out bricklaying. So if you're someone who really likes seeing you know your project come to life like that, and you've built like a wall, that's it's it's such a cool trade for that.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

It's amazing. Like this, once you've finished it all and you've you know cleaned it and washed it, take a several couple steps back and look at the wall, there's nothing that meets that feeling because it's it's an accomplishment, right? Something that's gonna stay there for years and years and years. It doesn't burn. Yeah. Yeah, it's right around and you look at a burnt down house. The only thing that's standing is probably the chimney if they had one. That's true. Things stay, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:43

So that's true, yeah. Yeah, okay. What's the most important skill you've learned, not just on the job, but in life as a bricklayer or a competitor?

SPEAKER_01 34:54

Most important skill I've learned from it. Probably just I wouldn't say it's like so much a skill, but just becoming more confident in my ability to like know what I'm doing. Yeah. And like just to be, because before when I used to work at like any job that wasn't brick lang, I didn't like it when people would tell me, okay, go do this task and then leave me alone. Like I'd go up to them 30, 40 times and be like, hey, like, does this look right? Am I doing this okay? And now it's like somebody tells me to do something, and I just trust that I'm gonna do it. Yeah, right. And that's something that being in the trades has taught me. Like, that's not something that I grew up with. That was something that has come with me the past three years, right? Just like building up my confidence and just making me feel like the more or I have a stronger mentality now. Like I can do things now and just be very confident and very aware in what I am doing and how I am doing it.

SPEAKER_00 35:56

Yeah. So that that's awesome. I mean, confidence is so important, yeah. And I feel like everyone kind of struggles with it, especially like in the first couple years of their trade or job. Because it's hard to really feel confident in what you're doing until you've gotten the experience.

SPEAKER_01 36:12

So yeah, and you have to force yourself to you know, go ask those questions because you're never gonna learn if you don't. There's times where I've been afraid to ask people questions because I think I'm gonna look dumb or something. And I've sworn myself when I started in the trade, I'm gonna ask every question I can think about.

SPEAKER_00 36:31

So yeah, I mean, if there's someone above you, they know that they're there for questions. Everyone just wants to grow.

SPEAKER_01 36:39

You gotta ask questions. When I was in you never learn anything, exactly, gotta continue learning and growing. We never learned why the sky was blue unless somebody thought about it one day.

SPEAKER_00 36:48

So it's true. We have everything today because someone asked a question. Pretty much. Yep. Yep. So somebody thought one day, why don't we just walk and now look at where we are?

SPEAKER_01 37:03

Evolution. This is why we are here.

SPEAKER_00 37:06

There was a question.

SPEAKER_01 37:07

Yeah, critical thinking. Exactly. Jack would be proud of me for saying that. Yeah. One of my teachers always says to use your critical thinking. So now I have a joke with myself whenever I'm like thinking about something. I'm like, hey Michaela, critically think about this. Jack's voice. It always comes in Jack's voice too now.

SPEAKER_00 37:33

Yeah, that's hilarious. Love that. Love when teachers really make a mark like that.

SPEAKER_01 37:38

Oh, it's every single teacher in trade school, because they're so like hands-on with you, they you leave lasting impressions. In high school, where it's like they teach you, but they just hand you a piece of paper and you know, say, this is your assignment, right? Like with them, they're teaching you your career, they're teaching you your job, right? So it's something that any little thing sticks. So yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:08

Yeah, also just like take moments to chat with your instructors because you know what? That's another good way to network.

SPEAKER_01 38:15

So yeah, I got Derek A, thanks, coach, card, and I thought it was very funny. Yeah. I was like, I don't know if you're like my coach or my mentor, but I got you this card and it says, thanks, coach. Oh, that's so nice.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

That's awesome. If you could sum up your skills experience in one sentence, what would it be? It was very fun and very worth it.

SPEAKER_01 38:42

Yeah. Yeah. Pretty much sums it up. It's fun and it's worth it. That's awesome. It's a memory that you'll be able to look on for the rest of your life. That's how I do it. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 38:53

Yeah. I mean, it's an it's an incredible experience.

SPEAKER_01 38:56

So it would be 50 and look at my kids and be like, hey, I did this.

SPEAKER_00 39:02

You know, I got a little bit all my kids when I have kids will be little flexers. That's awesome. What's next for you? Any exciting projects or goals on the horizon? Just Detroit.

SPEAKER_01 39:16

And then after that, getting my journeyman. Because I've done school now. Done school. Anything education-wise, done.

SPEAKER_00 39:26

Awesome. So that's awesome. Well, congrats on finishing like all the school stuff, because that can take a while. So yeah. That takes a lot of work and a lot of years. Thank you. And the Detroit thing is the other competition, right? Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 39:42

That is just through the union. Unions in Canada. We had our own little mini competition here in Alberta. And then the top four people get to go to Detroit. I got second. And the other girl that was there, the other only girl that was there got first, which is pretty cool. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. So us two, and then two guys were going to Detroit, and we're pretty much representing Canada. Because we're the Canadian bricklayers that are going there. But apparently there's going to be like 86 people or something competing. That's so cool. Yeah. Don't quote me on that. I actually have no idea how many people are going. But apparently it's going to be a lot of bricklayers.

SPEAKER_00 40:25

And when is that?

SPEAKER_01 40:27

That is September. I'm not sure what date, but he said between like the 26th and the 29th is when we leave. Oh, okay. So end of September, early October. Awesome. Well, keep us updated.

SPEAKER_00 40:43

We want to know how that goes. That's so cool. Oh, yeah, I'm excited for that.

SPEAKER_01 40:47

Yeah, it's a cool journey.

SPEAKER_00 40:49

So yeah, for sure. Yeah. And what is your favorite thing about your trade?

SPEAKER_01 40:56

Honestly, just the energy and being hands-on. I don't work out. I don't go to the gym. I just go to work. And that's pretty much you know my workout and my gym. And just being very physically active in it is very nice. It keeps you moving. And at the end of the day, enjoying a meal and thinking to yourself, you know, like I deserve that meal. I worked hard today, is probably one of my favorite feelings at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_00 41:26

You know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:27

Feel like I accomplished something through the day.

SPEAKER_00 41:29

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's always a good feeling.

SPEAKER_01 41:33

It's the best feeling.

unknown 41:35

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 41:36

Awesome. Thank you again for sharing your skill story. That was amazing.

SPEAKER_01 41:40

And thank you for the opportunity to do this. I've never been invited to a podcast, so it's something new and fun to do.

SPEAKER_00 41:46

Well, thank you everyone for tuning in, and we'll see you in the next one. Thanks again for tuning in. We hope you enjoyed today's episode and gained some valuable insights from our amazing guests. If you'd like to learn more about Skills Canada Alberta and our wide range of programs, be sure to check out our website at skillsalberta.com. From bringing skills right to your classroom to taking part in our competition programming, there are countless ways to get involved. And don't forget to follow us on social media at SkillsAlberta to stay up to date on our latest episodes and events. See you in the next one.