Conestoga welcomed 325 high school girls to its state-of-the-art Conestoga Skilled Trades Campus in Cambridge to get hands-on experience in a variety of trades at the college’s trademarked Jill of All Trades (JOAT) on May 28.
Canadian construction trailblazer Mandy Rennehan (right) speaks at the Jill of All Trades event hosted by Conestoga for high school girls to get hands-on experience in the skilled trades.
The day-long event to inspire young women in Grades 9 to 12 and promote careers in the skilled trades attracted students from 11 school boards in southwestern Ontario who experienced the basics of the trades taught at Conestoga, including masonry, framing and insulation, carpentry, automotive repair, welding and HVAC. They also met women working in the trades and connected with industry representatives.
The students were welcomed by MPP Jess Dixon, Kitchener South - Hespeler, and North American Jill of All Trades ambassador Mandy Rennehan. Known as “The Blue Collar CEO,” Rennehan is the founder and CEO of Freshco as well as an award-winning author, speaker and HGTV host. Rennehan is widely recognized as a trailblazer in the Canadian construction industry and for her efforts to empower women to join the trades.
“I know firsthand how empowering it is to learn how to build and repair things with your own hands. I didn’t come from a trades background, but learning how to do my own renovations years ago when I bought my fixer-upper house completely changed the way I saw myself,” Dixon said. “It gave me confidence, independence, and pride — and that’s exactly what today is about. These girls will be walking away knowing they’re capable of so much more than they might have imagined this morning.”
Conestoga launched Jill of All Trades in 2014 for local high school women to learn about opportunities available in trades-based education and careers from female mentors. JOAT has become so successful that it is now delivered at other institutions throughout Ontario, across Canada and the United States.
By the end of 2027, more than 10,000 young women will have participated in a Jill of All Trades event in North America.
“When we launched this event in 2014, we had no idea that we would have an opportunity to expand it across Canada and into the U.S. We hope to have an impact so that we see more young women choose skilled trades careers and have them help address the workforce shortages we’re starting to see in the industry,” said Rosie Hessian, chair of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and director of Jill of All Trades. “We’re proud of the work we’re doing and the support we have from our volunteers and sponsors.”
The demand to keep pace with population growth and changing workforce demographics has led to a growing skills gap. Reports indicate that more than 700,000 skilled tradespeople are set to retire by 2028. Canada needs more than 167,000 new apprentices alone to keep pace. According to Statistics Canada, women account for roughly four per cent of workers in under-represented skilled trades occupations.