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University student shifts gears and builds future as a truck and transport mechanic J


ennifer Nguyen didn’t start her career as a truck and transport mechanic. She spent four years in university


majoring in business and politics before realizing that she had lost interest in her studies and needed a change. She de- cided to take a year off to refocus. During this time, Nguyen came to ap-


preciate that she really enjoys working with her hands. “I liked working with cars and being hands-on, it’s fun,” she recalls. Nguyen began to look for programs at Red River College to build her skills and to do something new. “I chose the Truck and Transport Mechanic Program based on growing industry demand for skilled


workers,” she says, adding the course content was appealing, too. Nguyen has never looked back. She


signed up as an apprentice and has been working in the trade for three years. Changing her career path is a decision she does not regret. “I can honestly say I have never second-guessed my choice and I continue to be happy with what I do.” Nguyen admits that shifting gears


wasn’t always easy and she had a dif- ficult time adjusting to a new schedule. “In university, you can basically set your own schedule; this program was differ- ent because I had to be there and stay


focused all day.” Te time commitment wasn’t the only


obstacle Nguyen had to overcome; ini- tially, she also found it difficult to fit in. Te only woman in her program, Nguyen felt a lot of pressure in the beginning to keep up with the other students. Despite these challenges, Nguyen per-


sisted though her program and now feels right at home in her chosen trade. “Tree years later, I’m much more comfortable. My relationships with coworkers have changed and the same thing is expected of me as any other journeyperson in the shop.”


Job security, viable future Nguyen recently shared her experi-


ences as a female apprentice in a non- tradit ional trade at Apprenticeship Manitoba’s Building Bridges: Increasing Women in the Trades forum held Oct. 2. Te first event of its kind in Manitoba,


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the forum’s purpose was to provide the opportunity for female apprentices and journeypersons to talk about their experiences in the skilled trades, and to inform employers, government and educational stakeholders about the chal- lenges they face. Participants were asked to identify barriers as well as potential solutions to address these challenges. Nguyen says women need to become


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more informed about the career choices available to them. “Te current and an- ticipated ongoing high demand for truck and transport mechanics offers me job security and a viable future.” She believes it is also important to


highlight women who are already work- ing in the trades. “We need to get out there and let the public know that this is already happening. More and more of us are selecting a trade as our career choice.” Nguyen offers simple yet important


Jennifer Nguyen feels right at home working in her trade as a truck and transport mechanic.


advice to women who are just starting out in the skilled trades: “Stay positive! With hard work, a good sense of humour and a good attitude, you can succeed.” For more information about the skilled


trades and how to get involved as an apprentice, visit the Apprenticeship Manitoba website at manitoba.ca/tra- decareers. -Apprenticeship Manitoba


Philosopher-turned-electrician has sights on another career change in federal politics By Jared Story


H


ow many philosophers does it take to change a light bulb? If the philosopher in question is


Daniel Blaikie, the answer is one. Blaikie – the son of former Elmwood-Transcona MP Bill Blaikie – works as an electrician with McCaine Electric Ltd., but also holds a mas- ter’s degree in philosophy from Concordia University in Montreal. Blaikie is a recent graduate of Red River


College’s Pre-Employment Electrical pro- gram and is currently working toward com- pleting the Electrical Apprenticeship pro- gram. Te 30-year-old, who lives in Transcona with his wife Janelle and his 18-month-old son Robert, said the decision to move from philosophy to electricity was made in order to stay in Winnipeg. “My wife and I decided we wanted to stay in Winnipeg and raise a family, so I needed to figure out something else, and I had actually started out in the Car- pentry program (at RRC),” says Blaikie, who’d attended carpentry classes in 2006 and 2007. “I wasn’t able to do the second half of that


program, but it whet my appetite for the trades and I realized I like working with my hands, so when I was contemplating what else to do when we moved back to Winnipeg, the trades were high on the list. One of the great things about the trades right now is you can get paid to learn, and you’re learning some- thing that other people value and are willing to pay for.” Blaikie said the work he does with Mc-


Caine, which includes pulling wire, running conduit and building cable trays, is satisfy- ing because of the cut-and-dried nature of the job. “With philosophy, jobs are always not finished. Tere’s always more you could have read, some other lead you could have chased down, and at a certain point, you just have to report on where your research is at: ‘Tis is where I got with the time allowed,’” says Blaikie, who taught an introductory phi- losophy course at the University of Winnipeg. “Whereas with a trades project, there’s a clear beginning and a clear end and the standard


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of assessment is pretty clear. Does the house stand? Do the lights go on? Does the toilet flush? There’s something really satisfying about doing a project that has a determinate beginning and a definite end, and you know right away whether you did a good job or not. And if you didn’t, you know how to fix it.” But Blaikie might soon be putting his elec-


trical career on pause for a much less-decided occupation. In June, he defeated Elmwood MLA Jim Maloway to represent the NDP in Elmwood-Transcona in the next federal election. “I grew up in a house that was really dedicated to the fight for social, economic and environmental justice, and was brought up to see the role and to believe in the role that government plays in setting all that up,” Blaikie says. “It’s something you see on the job site too, whether you’re talking about Workplace Safety and Health or negotiating wages. When you see that stuff and you’re represented by a Conservative MP, it’s very difficult having the background that I have and believing in that role for government to just stand on the sidelines.” Blaikie, whose sister Rebecca is the NDP’s


president, has past political experience, having worked as a constituency assistant for Andrew Swan (MLA for Minto), as well as Teresa Oswald (MLA for Seine River) when she was Minister of Health. Blaikie says his current career is also his


preparing him for politics. “I’d say my experi- ence on job sites across Winnipeg has been a really good experience and one that I would take with me to Ottawa – and one I think more people who are representing ordinary Canadians should have. You learn a lot about what the day-to-day concerns of people actu- ally are,” he says. In the meantime, Blaikie says he’s more


than happy working for McCaine. “I’m a proud member of the International Brother- hood of Electrical Workers (IBEW 2085). Tere are a lot of good contractors under that um- brella. For the moment, I’m quite satisfied.” Visit rrc.mb.ca to find out more about the


college’s Pre-Employment and Apprenticeship Electrical programs.


November 2014


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