In the male-dominated construction industry, a carpenters’ apprenticeship training centre in suburban Toronto is proving you don’t need testosterone to get in the game.
Of the 20 to 25 full- and part-time instructors at the College of Carpenters and Allied Trades (CCAT), five are women, teaching classes ranging from basic carpentry to health and safety. And those women come with experience in the industry.
Two instructors have extensive work histories in scaffolding and formwork — fields regarded as the most physically demanding.
Alexandra Kelloway, one of the first Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) students to train in the field, instructs scaffolding — a field she worked in for about a decade.