((PKG)) TOOLBELT TRAINING
((TRT: 03:20))
((Filmed before the pandemic))
((Topic Banner: Training for Toolbelts))
((Reporter: Karina Bafradzhian))
((Camera: Artyom Kokhan))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Portland, Oregon))
((Main characters: 1 female))
((Sub characters: 1 female))
((NATS))
((Kelly Kupcak, Executive Director, Oregon
Tradeswomen))
At first, everyone was like, ‘That's crazy. You don't know
anything about construction.’ And it was a whole new world
and it was really, really hard and really physically exhausting
but really interesting and really exciting and I loved it.
((NATS))
((Text over video: Oregon Tradeswomen offers free, 8-
week basic construction training for women.))
((Kelly Kupcak, Executive Director, Oregon
Tradeswomen))
You know, just helping so many women come through our
program and go out and after, you know, one year, two
years from when they graduated four or five years. They
became an electrician, a carpenter, a plumber, a pipe fitter,
(or) a heavy equipment operator, like myself. They were able
to no longer have to survive on benefits from the government
and they could have pride in a job that was not just a job but
really a career pathway. And they could buy a car. They
were buying their first home and they had economic
independence.
((NATS: Construction))
((Kelly Kupcak, Executive Director, Oregon
Tradeswomen))
In the construction industry, you're making really good
wages and if it's a union job, you're also getting a pension,
you're also getting health care. So, I saw the difference right,
of what was happening and what we also know is that a lot
of girls and women, even though we're in the 21st century,
folks still are like, ‘Oh, I don't see myself as that. I don't see
myself doing that.’ Or you know, they drive down the road
and they just see men working on a highway job. So, they
don't think that's an opportunity for them.
((NATS
Woman 1: And you take the bottom, so see that here? Take
that and turn this this way.
Woman 2: I was thinking it wouldn’t even be able to reach.))
((Jenna, Construction Worker))
It's definitely an old stereotype that I think we definitely need
to lean away from. It’s, for sure, a very physically demanding
job. You have to be in shape. You have to be willing to work
hard. As long as you're willing to put in the work and to work
for it, I don't see why women can't be in it. I don't see why
the stereotype was made in the first place. So, you don't see
very many women out there but more women need to be in
the trade for sure.
((NATS
Woman: So now, we’ve got to move this over a way, so we
can afford to…))
((Kelly Kupcak, Executive Director, Oregon
Tradeswomen))
I think the women that come through our doors, some of
them are women who have, you know, a master's degree in
engineering. And they don't want to sit behind a desk all day
anymore, and they want to do something more dynamic, and
they want to be outdoors, and they want to use their bodies
and their brains. Those women come through our doors.
Women in the community who are coming out of
incarceration, so, you know, leaving prison. We are in the
prison system. We talk to women there as well. They say,
‘Have you thought about this pathway?’ So, we work really
hard to make sure that the folks that want to do this, can do
it, and we give them the tools they need, the training they
need and the support they need. And I think that piece is
really important to underscore because while you're also
learning all the skills that you need, we're helping you get rid
of the barriers.
((NATS))
((TRT: 03:20))
((Filmed before the pandemic))
((Topic Banner: Training for Toolbelts))
((Reporter: Karina Bafradzhian))
((Camera: Artyom Kokhan))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Portland, Oregon))
((Main characters: 1 female))
((Sub characters: 1 female))
((NATS))
((Kelly Kupcak, Executive Director, Oregon
Tradeswomen))
At first, everyone was like, ‘That's crazy. You don't know
anything about construction.’ And it was a whole new world
and it was really, really hard and really physically exhausting
but really interesting and really exciting and I loved it.
((NATS))
((Text over video: Oregon Tradeswomen offers free, 8-
week basic construction training for women.))
((Kelly Kupcak, Executive Director, Oregon
Tradeswomen))
You know, just helping so many women come through our
program and go out and after, you know, one year, two
years from when they graduated four or five years. They
became an electrician, a carpenter, a plumber, a pipe fitter,
(or) a heavy equipment operator, like myself. They were able
to no longer have to survive on benefits from the government
and they could have pride in a job that was not just a job but
really a career pathway. And they could buy a car. They
were buying their first home and they had economic
independence.
((NATS: Construction))
((Kelly Kupcak, Executive Director, Oregon
Tradeswomen))
In the construction industry, you're making really good
wages and if it's a union job, you're also getting a pension,
you're also getting health care. So, I saw the difference right,
of what was happening and what we also know is that a lot
of girls and women, even though we're in the 21st century,
folks still are like, ‘Oh, I don't see myself as that. I don't see
myself doing that.’ Or you know, they drive down the road
and they just see men working on a highway job. So, they
don't think that's an opportunity for them.
((NATS
Woman 1: And you take the bottom, so see that here? Take
that and turn this this way.
Woman 2: I was thinking it wouldn’t even be able to reach.))
((Jenna, Construction Worker))
It's definitely an old stereotype that I think we definitely need
to lean away from. It’s, for sure, a very physically demanding
job. You have to be in shape. You have to be willing to work
hard. As long as you're willing to put in the work and to work
for it, I don't see why women can't be in it. I don't see why
the stereotype was made in the first place. So, you don't see
very many women out there but more women need to be in
the trade for sure.
((NATS
Woman: So now, we’ve got to move this over a way, so we
can afford to…))
((Kelly Kupcak, Executive Director, Oregon
Tradeswomen))
I think the women that come through our doors, some of
them are women who have, you know, a master's degree in
engineering. And they don't want to sit behind a desk all day
anymore, and they want to do something more dynamic, and
they want to be outdoors, and they want to use their bodies
and their brains. Those women come through our doors.
Women in the community who are coming out of
incarceration, so, you know, leaving prison. We are in the
prison system. We talk to women there as well. They say,
‘Have you thought about this pathway?’ So, we work really
hard to make sure that the folks that want to do this, can do
it, and we give them the tools they need, the training they
need and the support they need. And I think that piece is
really important to underscore because while you're also
learning all the skills that you need, we're helping you get rid
of the barriers.
((NATS))
