Girls. Power. Tools.

GIRLS. POWER. TOOLS.

Girls 8-14 get fired up for the building trades long before anyone has time to talk them out of it.

By / Deb Draper

In the early spring of 2016, an independent young woman named Katie Hughes stepped up to make a difference in the lives of young girls in Portland, Oregon, when she founded the non-profit organization Girls Build.

As a carpenter having taught at ACE Academy and Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. (OTI), Hughes realized opportunities for girls to get involved in the trades are very limited, reflected in the fact that despite a debilitating worker shortage in the construction industry, only about two percent of on-site workers are women.

The mission of Girls Build is to inspire curiosity and confidence in young girls by introducing them to the construction trades, while also instilling an awareness of the possibilities and satisfaction of creating something strong and useful with their own hands.

At one-week summer camps, girls 8 to 14 put on their hard hats and tool belts and jump right into the exciting world of making and building. They use all the regular equipment, from hammers to chop saws, to make several small, individual projects and one big project together over the course of seven days.

“We have 20 workshops each week,” says Hughes. “This year was our third summer camp, and we had seven one-week sessions: two in Portland, two in Seattle, two in Southern Oregon, and one on the Oregon coast.”

Hughes explains that the camps sell out almost immediately once they’re announced. Three hundred girls attended in 2018, and with another location added in 2019, she anticipates 500 eager-to-learn young construction workers this coming year.

The last two years, Hughes has included projects within the sheet metal trade, recognizing that it may not be as well-known as other trades, yet can be very rewarding. “I got in touch with

SMART Local 16 in Portland and said, ‘I’d like to make a lamp shade out of metal–what do you think, can we do it?’

“From that moment on, they have been super supportive, training us not only how to build something out of metal but also how to teach it to our girls. They even lent us their Rotex hand turret punch for this year’s project, a metal lunchbox that the girls were thrilled with.”

Charlie Johnson, business manager for Local 16, said when the program was just getting started he and other instructors at the local’s facility would help train the girls on sheet metal projects that usually involved welding.

“It was great fun,” Johnson says. “We would have them roll up some of the material and some of the girls actually want to do the welding, so we would get the machine set up and help them through it. They were really excited about it.”

As the program grew, having the girls into the shop became less practical, but Local 16 still supports the program with equipment loans and materials whenever possible. “It is great that the program has grown to that extent,” Johnson says. “We try to help them the best we can.”

Angie Simon, president of Western Allied Mechanical Inc., has been involved in the HVAC industry for more than 30 years and knows there are too few women involved in sheet metal. That is why she is excited to see programs such as Girls Build working towards improving this imbalance.

“The summer camps are a great way to introduce young girls to construction at exactly the right age,” says Simon. “We need to show them how fun and satisfying it is to build something. They can take pride in what they are making and learn about the future careers available to them in the field of construction.” Simon will serve in 2019 as SMACNA’s first female president. But Girls Build isn’t stopping at summer camps. Right now Hughes is looking for a new, larger space in order to offer open shop hours for girls to come in and work on projects; she wants to set up after-school programs during the day and for older women in the evening and on weekends so females of all ages can get some experience of the trades.

Johnson says offering the program to girls sooner rather than later is an important key to long-term engagement.

“Women need to be made more aware that this is a very doable career option for them,” he says. “We find trying to market that approach at the high school level is almost too late. A lot have already been so ingrained with ideas about what options are right for them; it is a bit problematic. If we get in there a little younger and show them they can have some fun doing our activities, it helps later to translate into more applicants.”

Meanwhile, Hughes also brings workshops to those who can’t attend. “We hold the same classes for young women every Friday at the Oak Creek Correctional Facility and have had one of our girls come out and apply to enter into the sheet metal trade.”

This past year, the organization launched an internship program with the City of Portland over the summer, training four interns, ages 16 to 24, in the construction trades—one of whom was a former camper.

Girls Build was originally solely funded by the generosity of individuals and corporations. Since then, the number of girls involved has doubled, scholarships have increased by 20 percent, and with continuing help, the program will be able to expand and reach out further to as many as possible. In addition, Hughes notes that donations of materials from the construction community to use in the workshops and summer camps are very gratefully received.

“I am proud to see the Sheet Metal Training Center and Streimer Sheet Metal Works are supporters of this great program,” says Simon. “Both the local SMART union and the union contractors realize that increasing the number of women into our trade is good for future of the sheet metal industry.”

Through exposure to the pride of workmanship and rewarding career possibilities, Girls Build is building a strong foundation for many young women to stand upon in the future.

Katie Hughes and her work with Girls Build was featured on Mike Rowe’s program, “Returning the Favor”, which spotlights groups and individuals giving back to their communities. Watch the Girls Build episode at mikerowe.com/2017/09/rtf-girlsbuild-episode-3/. •

From her desk in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Deb Smith writes for trade and business publications across North America, specializing in profiles and stories within the hospitality, food service, mining, recreation, and construction industries. When not writing, she’s likely travelling, gardening, or taking long walks with her big white dog. Photos courtesy of Katie Hughes.