In a workshop space in Portland, Oregon, a group of 10 young girls recently learned the fine art of soldering steel.
The camp, held in March, was one of dozens put on by Girls Build, a nonprofit organization that teaches girls the basics of carpentry, plumbing, electricity, and other skilled trades. Founded in 2016, the camps are held in Oregon and Washington and involve an all-female team of instructors who introduce about 40 girls to as many as 10 trades in the course of a week. While one day might be devoted to learning about roofing or wiring solar panels, another day could be spent exploring auto mechanics, tree trimming, or fire fighting.
Job opportunities in the trades are also on the rise. Employment for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters is expected to grow 16 percent from 2016 to 2026, more than two times the average growth rate for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment for people who install solar panels is even higher—set to grow by 105 percent over that same decade.
The trade industry as a whole is suffering from a skills shortage. In 2017, for example, 70 percent of contractors reported difficulty finding enough workers for construction projects, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.
“With the automation of many of these types of tasks within these jobs, for you to be successful at this, you’re going to have to learn the computer skills, you’re going to have to learn to operate the machine,” Smith said. “It’s not necessarily one of these ‘dirty jobs’ that you’re not going to want to participate in.”
Helping to erase whatever boundaries are keeping women out of these careers is certainly one way to help ease this shortage. Girls Build is making strides in that direction.
This year, 400 girls will take part in Girls Build—half of them will be returners, Hughes said. The camp has had so much success that this year it launched a camp specifically for girls who have already attended before and want to keep building on that knowledge. Last year, the organization added a junior councilors program, where 15-year-olds can assist the teachers, and a paid intern program for 16- to 24-year-olds.
This is not to say that every girl who walks into Girls Build will automatically be enamored with the trades. For some participants, it’s not a good fit, Hughes said. But the camps were never meant just to lay out a career path. They were also about empowering girls to interact with the physical world and learn that they could decipher the mechanics of a broken tool and tackle fixing it on their own.
“There’s something really satisfying about being a person who can fix things,” said Hughes. “I don’t want girls to be robbed of that feeling.”
The camp, held in March, was one of dozens put on by Girls Build, a nonprofit organization that teaches girls the basics of carpentry, plumbing, electricity, and other skilled trades. Founded in 2016, the camps are held in Oregon and Washington and involve an all-female team of instructors who introduce about 40 girls to as many as 10 trades in the course of a week. While one day might be devoted to learning about roofing or wiring solar panels, another day could be spent exploring auto mechanics, tree trimming, or fire fighting.
Job opportunities in the trades are also on the rise. Employment for plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters is expected to grow 16 percent from 2016 to 2026, more than two times the average growth rate for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment for people who install solar panels is even higher—set to grow by 105 percent over that same decade.
The trade industry as a whole is suffering from a skills shortage. In 2017, for example, 70 percent of contractors reported difficulty finding enough workers for construction projects, according to the Associated General Contractors of America.
“With the automation of many of these types of tasks within these jobs, for you to be successful at this, you’re going to have to learn the computer skills, you’re going to have to learn to operate the machine,” Smith said. “It’s not necessarily one of these ‘dirty jobs’ that you’re not going to want to participate in.”
Helping to erase whatever boundaries are keeping women out of these careers is certainly one way to help ease this shortage. Girls Build is making strides in that direction.
This year, 400 girls will take part in Girls Build—half of them will be returners, Hughes said. The camp has had so much success that this year it launched a camp specifically for girls who have already attended before and want to keep building on that knowledge. Last year, the organization added a junior councilors program, where 15-year-olds can assist the teachers, and a paid intern program for 16- to 24-year-olds.
This is not to say that every girl who walks into Girls Build will automatically be enamored with the trades. For some participants, it’s not a good fit, Hughes said. But the camps were never meant just to lay out a career path. They were also about empowering girls to interact with the physical world and learn that they could decipher the mechanics of a broken tool and tackle fixing it on their own.
“There’s something really satisfying about being a person who can fix things,” said Hughes. “I don’t want girls to be robbed of that feeling.”
A Camp Shows Girls They Belong in Carpentry and Construction
Male-dominated trades like construction, plumbing, and welding can offer job security and decent pay. A camp aims to show girls these careers are for them, too.
www.citylab.com