“My goal is to take what I’ve learned and gain more experience. Whether it be having to be on one piece of machine for a period of time, or as an admin or supervisor position in the construction field”.
It’s no secret that the construction industry has a predominantly male workforce. In 2020, BuildForce Canada estimated that women accounted for only five percent of the over 1 million tradespeople in construction in the country. That being said, year to year, this number steadily increases. Similarly, this is also a trend seen in the student enrollments in the Heavy Equipment Operator course at OETIM Inc. For example, in January 2022, there were 4 female students in the classroom. One of those students was Tanya Botelho.
It was at the end of 2021 when Tanya had begun to consider Heavy Equipment Operator as a career and was looking for qualifying programs. After New Year’s and through diligent online searching, training at OETIM was one of the options that was made available. As Tanya said regarding this period in her life: “It’s as if you’re looking for something and it just falls into your lap”. After doing a proctored assessment at UCN (University College of the North) Churchill and receiving an acceptance letter, Tanya secured a spot in the January 2022 course.
To take the HEO course Tanya travelled to Winnipeg from Northern Manitoba, more specifically, the famous polar bear city of Churchill. During the course, she remarks that it was nice having the learning experience split between books and hands-on experience. “I get bored easily, if it’s in class and just books — whereas if you are put on the simulator and learning, it’s up to you.” Simulator training is self-directed learning as the students can decide what to work on each day. At the OETIM Inc. field training site, each simulator is a direct representation of an actual equipment piece that students are trained on. With each system having a variety of lessons that focus on different real-work situations, students can practice a skill countless times to improve their efficiency at the particular task. For instance, you can practice the mechanics of digging a trench on an excavator and then use what you’ve learned in the field training site.
When asked what Tanya would like to do following graduation at OETIM Inc., she replied: “My goal is to take what I’ve learned and gain more experience. Whether it be having to be on one piece of machine for a period of time, or as an admin or supervisor position in the construction field”. As a result of her training, Tanya has an all-encompassing understanding of the many levels of construction projects and is ready to take on the male-dominated field. We wish Tanya the best of luck in her future with Heavy Equipment!
Author: Bailey Jablonski Armstrong
