By Sheila Phibbs
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—Prior to the pandemic, Cynthia Boado of Cayuga worked as a server in a restaurant, a job she enjoyed that fit well with family life. However, the sudden shutdowns March 2020 and uncertainty caused by COVID-19 made it time to re-evaluate that career choice and consider new opportunities.
It was with this mindset that Boado decided to apply for Mind Over Metal, a two-week Introduction to Welding program offered by the Canadian Welding Board (CWB) in conjunction with Skills2Advance and Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie (WPBGE), which she noticed on social media. She says, “I have never welded before but I enjoy crafting (knitting, crocheting, sewing, paper crafts) and thought, ‘Why not give it a try?’”
During the program, Boado learned how to stick weld (shielded metal arc welding (SMAW)) and completed CWB courses for Health and Safety, Blueprint Reading, and SMAW. The students practised welding in flat and horizontal positions in t-joint and were able to test for a transferable “ticket” with CWB.
Boado was successful on the test and now holds that ticket, as well as certification to operate counterbalance lift trucks (class II and IV). She also has certificates in emergency first aid and AED/CPR-C. She adds, “Above and beyond that, I have friendships now outside of the classroom that I never would have had, as well as other connections in the skilled trades.”
Through this program, Boado discovered a love of welding and wanted to pursue it as a career. She enrolled in a nine week pre-apprenticeship welding program to further develop and gain new skills. She acknowledges that without the two week program she would never have attempted the additional summer course as she says, “It is a big commitment for not just myself, but my husband and two kids, ages 9 and 6.”
Reflecting on the initial program Boado says, “The Mind Over Metal program ignited a passion for welding that I used to get into a nine-week welding program. In just 11 short weeks, I was able to springboard off of those two opportunities into a career doing something I love. I am gainfully employed as a welder at a company.”
According to the Labour Market Connection Workforce News (September 2022), the Skills2Advance Welding program is aiming to train 150 people by March. The Women of Steel program, which is designed to get more women into the trades, begins December 16 at Fanshawe College in Simcoe; contact skills2advance@workforceplanningboard.org for more information this opportunity.
Upcoming Workforce Training Board job fairs are scheduled for November 15 (Brantford), November 16 (Haldimand and Norfolk), and November 17 (Brant County).
Boado believes that programs like Mind Over Metal are essential because they provide low-risk opportunities for people to develop new skills and explore a different field to see if it is a good fit.
She says, “Many skilled trades are in demand; myself and many in my class had no prior experience or knowledge of welding. Without this program, there would absolutely be less welders available for work because skilled trades is not always something that people want to commit to when they have never been in the industry.”
Boado would like to see more programs like Skills2Advance and CWB’s Mind Over Metal. She asserts, “I think there is a definite interest in skilled trades and I don’t always think it is always obvious to those outside the industry of how to bread into the field and find work.”
WPBGE serves Brant, Brantford, Haldimand, Norfolk, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and Six Nations of the Grand River. To learn more about Skills2Advance and other programs visit workforceplanningboard.org.
