Single mom’s ‘can-do’ attitude leads her to skilled trades career
Having spent four years in Costa Rica, Rebecca Chenier’s return home to Windsor carried with it a certain amount of uncertainty.
“I was looking for jobs while waitressing,” says Chenier, “but as a single mom, with three kids, I really felt like waitressing had an expiration date for me. The scheduling wasn’t convenient, and I was looking for a career.”
While under the guidance of an employment counsellor located in downtown Windsor, Chenier says that by chance she came across a flyer distributed by Windsor Enterprise Skills Training (WEST) of Windsor Inc. seeking women interested in learning more about skilled trades.
“I was intrigued by this flyer,” says Chenier. “I remember talking to my employment counsellor about it and he was really hesitant… I don’t think he thought it would be anything I would enjoy.
“I convinced him I was really interested, specifically for the program for CNC and industrial millwright mechanic (training).”
Chenier says she actually had to Google the definition of a millwright. The flyer captured her attention but she really “had no clue,” she admits.
“When I found out that a millwright was a jack of all trades – that you could pursue electrical, rigging, millwright, machining – I was really intrigued. To have that exposure to a bit of everything, to learn aspects of different trades… I had no idea. I don’t think a lot of people have any idea, especially women, what this world is and how we can become part of it.
“I was overwhelmed, but I was committed. All it said, and all I understood at first was that it was a new opportunity, and it was for women. And I thought, ‘Well, I’m a woman. That means I can do it.”
Chenier’s newfound curiosity and fascination with the skilled trades motivated her to apply for this pre-apprenticeship program, delivered by WEST and geared to women with no shop experience – or, as Chenier assessed, even any awareness of any skilled trade. Funded by the Government of Ontario with support from the Canadian Women’s Foundation, Chenier was provided the opportunity to discover, in her words, an entirely new universe – and rediscover herself.
Rebecca’s story is one of many that WEST of Windsor Inc. shares and inspires other women through #Whynotme, #Whynotmetoo as part of a social media and website campaign. They feature local women sharing their stories and wisdom about pivotal shifts they made that led to greater economic stability and a more gender equal world. The project was provided through a grant for Gender Equality and is supported by a collaboration between Community Foundations of Canada and the Equality Fund, with support from the Government of Canada and the Windsor Essex Community Foundation.
“I don’t think anyone, male or female, is a little kid who grows up thinking, ‘I want to be a machinist someday,’” says Chenier. “But are women underrepresented in this industry? Definitely.
“I don’t think I would have had any interest in a flyer that just said ‘millwright apprenticeship program’ if it hadn’t specified it was for women. I would have overlooked it,” she says.
“It’s important to expose young women to this industry because the opportunities that follow, where it can take you and your career – it’s surprising and exciting.”
Chenier’s experience and sentiment are exactly in line with what the Government of Canada’s Equality Fund has hoped to achieve. As women’s organizations and movements rise across the country, with women at the front lines of evolution and change, the Equality Fund is making an investment in ensuring gender equality from coast to coast, driving massive cultural and political change.
Its primary focus is to support women’s rights organizations, like WEST, providing financial resources and strengthening such organizations working at the grassroots level as well as on the national and international stage. This fund is considered the world’s largest for women and girls, engaging foundations and corporations at every level to promote gender equality.
For WEST, this has meant opening
I don't think a lot of people have any idea, especially women, what this world is and how we can become part of it. - REBECCA CHENIER
the door to one of Windsor-essex’ primary industries: the skilled trades. And for Chenier, it has meant breaking barriers not only for herself, but for other women who follow her.
Rose Anguiano Hurst, executive director of WEST, says that the Equality Fund has accelerated the success of women in non-traditional roles. WEST, long known for its support of newcomers to Canada, has expanded to assist all women in our community with a desire to change, to develop themselves professionally, and to make a difference in the community and the world.
“I think it’s important to say this: an opportunity like this, a way into a career in the skilled trades is not a fallback,” says Chenier. “It could take you somewhere you never expected. I’m a technician at the college now, which means I help the instructor, so this opportunity could potentially lead to teaching. I never would have considered that.
“The way this opens your world to things you didn’t even imagine you’d get into – that’s the power of this program.”
WEST of Windsor Inc. will recognize Chenier as one of eight 2021 Journey Towards Success Award winners at its annual gala on March 8.