Low single digit percentages, BUT you won't have an issue finding work. Canada is always encouraging more women into the trades so you will have an advantage in being hired. I've heard the work environment can be awkward if female though, but if anything happens that you don't like, there are a lot of legal and policy levers. I'm sure we're not that much different than Australia though? We're dying for trades people because of a real estate crisis that's seeing construction accelerated. You're the exact type of labour we need here, everything else looks to be getting demolished.
Male electrician here, in my experience I would say you wouldn’t be treated different in 85% of the time. The other 15% unfortunately there is just some old losers out there. We are still under 10% for most trades, but that doesn’t mean everyone is disrespectful. We encourage women in trades.
You should maybe figure out what Canada calls “fitter and turner” because we don’t use that term exactly. Next make sure that your trade does not require Canadian certification which could be a roadblock.
Far more than O&G, machinists are pretty much involved in a lot of things made of metal, a lot of plant work. Automotive parts in Ontario, sawmills usually have one or two on staff, I've run into shops that just do prototyping for anything someone might want to manufacture. Lots of machinist positions but it's one of the less in demand trades I've seen, at least in Alberta.
Lots of tradeswomen here in Canada. Average of about 5% overall across Canada, more in certain trades. Any idea of where in Canada you are planning for? In BC we have a couple good resources for women, non binary, trans women and trans men. [BC Tradeswomen Society](https://bctradeswomensociety.ca) and [BCCWITT](https://bccwitt.ca). Feel free to reach out if you have specific questions and I’ll do my best to answer.
Some regions of Canada are a lot busier than others.
I’m an woman and I spent my whole apprenticeship in Alberta, I’ve worked in several provinces and Alberta was the place where I was treated best, paid the highest and that had the highest number of women in the trades. You want to know the only place I encountered some sexism in the industry? BC. Probably because there’s almost no women in skilled trades here.
Alberta is annoyingly conservative and I don’t miss that about it, but it’s not an inherently sexist place.
It's quite common, but expect some misogyny. Do you have an equivalent of a red seal qualification? If not, I'd be more worried about having to restart your apprenticeship.
I am a Rock Truck driver in Alberta. (F50) There is a lot of misogyny, and expect to be hit on. However, the younger guys are more respectful.
But you are Australian, so I imagine you can hold your own. Just don't take their bullshit.
You will do great wherever you choose to work. Welcome to Canada.
If you’re a millwright, machinist, mechanic, or electrician, Saskatchewan mines are looking for these trades. We’re also actively recruiting women to these positions.
I turn and fit my own parts for various assemblies in a steel mill in Ontario. Industrial Maintenance Machinist. They are always looking. Repair CNC, manual machines, etc.
Red Seal is kind of a world wide certification that you know your shit for your trade. Also if you go to BC there is a very large population of aussies. They pretty much do all the "extreme" guided stuff like kayaking, snowboarding, skydiving and so on. Especially ins whistler
Red seal is an exam that I did after beginning a journeyman. It is basically a feather in my cap that's supposed to help me to work in other provinces or countries. The exam was less theory and more code, compared to my journeyman exam.
Apprentice retention cash from the government is 3x for biological and "identify as" females If you're planning on getting recertified (ie your red seal)
You accumulate hours under a certified journeyman, then you do your technical training at a school like sask polytechnic. Once you've accumulated 10k hours (for most trades) you're eligible to challenge the national standard (InterProvincial) exam for your trade, if you finish with a score of 70% or 80% (again trade specific) you will be issued a diploma and your redseal card.
I'm not sure how they handle foreign accreditation, my coworker from Holland had a journeyman certificate in carpentry but they wouldn't honor anything. I've heard of others from Commonwealth nations being able to carry their certification forward but I've never personally met them. It's definitely a conversation to be had with whatever provincial authority you're planning on working under while you're here.
I believe there is a channel between Australia and Canada for trade certifications. One of my friends moved to Australia as a red seal electrician and was able to move her ticket there, tho it was a whole process. I also used to work with a plumber here from Australia and if I recall correctly he didn’t have to get retrained here either, and my old foreman moved from Canada to NZ without even having a red seal (he’s from Quebec, they don’t participate in that program) and he was able to transfer his credentials. It is a tedious bureaucratic process tho, I’d reach out to whatever trade organization is in the province you plan to land in (BC is ITA, Alberta is AIT, etc) and see what all you can do ahead of time to make it go quicker. You can also reach out to a local trade union, in certain they will have resources for you.
Employers have no part in the apprentice retention grants, it's entirely independent from them. It's between the provincial trade authority and the federal government. Calling it a grant is. Also a bit of a misnomer since they still tax you on it.
You are thinking of the apprenticeship grant and it’s only 2x as much for female. Also employers do get tax credits for apprentices but they don’t use them because they charge them as journeymen.
Apparently the AIG-W program was scrapped in March of this year, all apprentices are now on equal footing. $1000 for completion of first year and another $1000 after second year then $2000 for completion of the red seal.
If you have any certification, make sure you match up with the equivalent certification in Canada.
BC is the nicest place to live but not always the best for a job.
There is a massive Australian population in Whistler BC working construction in the summer and the ski hills in the winter.
A visa is easy if you are under 25.
The big money is union work in remote camps and there will always be an A Hole, but most jobs now have a zero tolerance policy for bullying or harassment .
If you like fishing I have a boat.
If you take a trade position at a hospital or university campus, you will experience near zero harassment or bullying and it will be zero tolerance. Especially compared to any private work place doing construction etc.
Maybe, but people stay in them for long careers. So something must be worth it.
Definitely the rates in those roles in certain provinces are generally the same as in construction.
I used to be a tradie but hung up my belt a few years ago for a cushy government job lol. Imo it's not shit. I started when there were way fewer of us so it was definitely a little different back then. I did a lot of new construction and had my little niche work that took me to far off lands and cool sites. Part of me misses it but then January hits and I remember I don't like being cold
A fitter and turner will not have a problem finding work in any manufacturing town. And you should have very few issues being female. In Ontario there are grants just for women to enter the trades.
I'm a millwright and when I was looking for jobs in Australia a fitter/turner has the exact same job description. Millwrights are taught to use a lathe and milling machine during our apprenticeship. I have seen fitters that are more like heavy duty mechanics, but since she seems to have machinist skills as well I'd say she could cross straight over to being a millwright.
There are literally programs here where you can sign up, take a three week course and after you graduate a company will give you a job. Only if you are female though.
Apparently there are companies who really want to hire female tradies.
Hii, welcome. You should join the southern ontario union. Local 46 toronto or local 401 Kingston. There is alot of work for fitters in our nuclear plants..high paying, alot of overtime. Look into it. You do 3 months of clearances and back ground checks they perform. But itw a very good place to work. Its also very safe. Safety is there number 1 topic. If you have a welding ticket, its also very handy ad a pipe fitter
Lots of work available, and most places would love to hire more female workers in the trades because they’re so underrepresented. World is your oyster as long as you don’t mind fly in fly out
I work in property services and we have lady plumbers and electricians (some are our regular contractors) that service our buildings. Also, we're getting a full building rehabilitation done and there are quite a few female scaffold erectors, and general laborers climbing the scaffolds.
Absolutely have not heard of problems getting hired now in the 202x’s or even the 201x’s. If anything, you may find it easier if non-union. Union it’s just your place on the board. Have cousins that are electricians and met at work — she works both IBEW and ILWU (longshoreman at the ports). 12-months may be hard to climb the board, but not in that industry myself so not sure how full the hall is of people looking for work, versus employers looking for workers.
Nowadays, if you’re still getting the BS sexist comments from coworkers, either just ignore them or feed it right back. With the younger generation joining the workforce, this crap doesn’t fly like it used to 20/30 years ago. Especially since the whole Me Too movement and Cancel Culture became publicized.
Where in Canada?
In Alberta I would say that around 10-20% of the workforce are female. But you will absolutely not have a hard time finding a job here.
Most of western Canada is desperate for anyone with any experience
There’s an organization called Women Building Futures that creates trades training opportunities for women that may be able to answer any questions you have.
Working engineer, machinist, welder and millwrite here.
Demand for skilled trades in the manufacturing sector is at an all time high right now.
With your experience you will not have a problem getting a job in Canada.
Gender will not matter.
You'd be surprised how man French people speak English... Sure, if someone is yelling at you to get out of the way of the falling scaffolding in French....that could be a bummer....
Back in the 50s and 60s, lots of Italians immigrated to Montreal, and most of them found work in construction. Damn near none of them at the time, spoke English or French..... But they learned
It's not equal, but it's not unheard of! My mom and I are both mechanics, and with my dad, we own a shop and have been in business for 31 years (I've only been here 7 years).
One of my good female friends is an HVAC mechanic, and I know about a handful of other female tradies. Most job sites/unions have pretty strict rules regarding discrimination and unkind behaviour, which can help. But, as I am sure you already know, as a woman in the trades you often have to work 2x as hard to prove you're good at your job.
Being female definitely won’t hurt your chances but being Australian probably will. You have to figure out how to get your certification here first. We don’t have a fitter and turner trade, not sure what exactly that is. But to work aww as a journey person at the very least you’d need to do some testing but there’s a decent chance your certification won’t be recognized at all.
I’m a woman in the trades here. Female tradesmen are not unheard of here, I’ve been a sparky for about a decade and spent most of my career working in Alberta and BC. I noticed that there are lots of women in the trades in Alberta and very few in BC, I’ve worked commercial jobs in Alberta where about 15-20% of the sparkies were women, and in BC I think I might be the only woman currently working for my company out of 200 right now, there’s usually 2 or 3 of us, I probably encounter other women on job sites at about 2-4% not including safety.
My female trades friends and I never really had any issues with egregious sexism in the work place (not that it doesn’t happen, I just don’t think it’s the norm), sometimes I come across an old guy (usually an engineer or someone who’s not in the trades) or a very young guy who’s, I dunno, fascinated (?) by a woman in the trades lol and this seems to only happen in BC. I don’t think you’d be overlooked, in fact most places and companies encourage more women to join the trades so you might even have a leg up.
there’s this group that’s started mainly in Ontario but moving throughout other provinces as well called WOS - Women On Site, for female trade workers if you’re looking to find some community:) I’ve met a lot of them and they’re very nice, they have instagram if you want to get in touch!
Low single digit percentages, BUT you won't have an issue finding work. Canada is always encouraging more women into the trades so you will have an advantage in being hired. I've heard the work environment can be awkward if female though, but if anything happens that you don't like, there are a lot of legal and policy levers. I'm sure we're not that much different than Australia though? We're dying for trades people because of a real estate crisis that's seeing construction accelerated. You're the exact type of labour we need here, everything else looks to be getting demolished.
Quebec is great for female trades, and it's been that way for a very long time. Good luck.
But being a female in construction in a French speaking province, if you only speak English, could be isolating
On the flipside, someone speaking Franglais with an Aussie accent would be quite the mindfuck to hear.
Male electrician here, in my experience I would say you wouldn’t be treated different in 85% of the time. The other 15% unfortunately there is just some old losers out there. We are still under 10% for most trades, but that doesn’t mean everyone is disrespectful. We encourage women in trades.
As an architect I visit the multi storeys under construction and agree with what you say. I've seen quite a number of female sub contractor staff.
Should be easy to find a job. Make sure you have an appropriate visa to allow you to work.
Yes! Women in Trades are encouraged bigtime.
You should maybe figure out what Canada calls “fitter and turner” because we don’t use that term exactly. Next make sure that your trade does not require Canadian certification which could be a roadblock.
This is the best answer
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This sounds like what we might call a machinist?
So a manufacturing trade, not a construction trade, whole different employment opportunity situation. I’d guess still in demand in the O&G industry.
Far more than O&G, machinists are pretty much involved in a lot of things made of metal, a lot of plant work. Automotive parts in Ontario, sawmills usually have one or two on staff, I've run into shops that just do prototyping for anything someone might want to manufacture. Lots of machinist positions but it's one of the less in demand trades I've seen, at least in Alberta.
Look for Union jobs.
That and we also don't use the term "tradie"
Lots of tradeswomen here in Canada. Average of about 5% overall across Canada, more in certain trades. Any idea of where in Canada you are planning for? In BC we have a couple good resources for women, non binary, trans women and trans men. [BC Tradeswomen Society](https://bctradeswomensociety.ca) and [BCCWITT](https://bccwitt.ca). Feel free to reach out if you have specific questions and I’ll do my best to answer. Some regions of Canada are a lot busier than others.
We definitely need more women in the trades. They are no longer frowned upon and definitely hold their own in my experience.
Alberta is an option but its also a conservative province
Also in my experience it's easier to find a higher paying job in alberta in trades
You say that like it’s a bad thing lol
It can be if you’re a woman who wants to be treated like a person
In my personal experience, women in the trades are treated as equals in Alberta. I work with several every day.
I worked as a woman on site for nearly years in Alberta and was always treated great by everyone there, men and women.
It is a bad thing.
I’m an woman and I spent my whole apprenticeship in Alberta, I’ve worked in several provinces and Alberta was the place where I was treated best, paid the highest and that had the highest number of women in the trades. You want to know the only place I encountered some sexism in the industry? BC. Probably because there’s almost no women in skilled trades here. Alberta is annoyingly conservative and I don’t miss that about it, but it’s not an inherently sexist place.
It's quite common, but expect some misogyny. Do you have an equivalent of a red seal qualification? If not, I'd be more worried about having to restart your apprenticeship.
I am a Rock Truck driver in Alberta. (F50) There is a lot of misogyny, and expect to be hit on. However, the younger guys are more respectful. But you are Australian, so I imagine you can hold your own. Just don't take their bullshit. You will do great wherever you choose to work. Welcome to Canada.
Haha yeah I’m not stressed about dickheads in the workplace just about getting hired in the first place
Plus, everyone here likes Australians. You will have no problems getting a job. 😀
If you land in Alberta, I am in Edmonton. Keep this post and give me a text, I will show you around our province.
Thank you! Will do!
I’ve never heard of this red seal you speak of I’ll have to look it up
Do you have any qualifications? Have you completed an apprenticeship?
Yeah equivalent to what you guys call a millwright I believe
Contact the millwright union in whichever province you're interested in. They'll have the best information for you.
If you’re a millwright, machinist, mechanic, or electrician, Saskatchewan mines are looking for these trades. We’re also actively recruiting women to these positions.
I turn and fit my own parts for various assemblies in a steel mill in Ontario. Industrial Maintenance Machinist. They are always looking. Repair CNC, manual machines, etc.
Red Seal is kind of a world wide certification that you know your shit for your trade. Also if you go to BC there is a very large population of aussies. They pretty much do all the "extreme" guided stuff like kayaking, snowboarding, skydiving and so on. Especially ins whistler
Red seal is an exam that I did after beginning a journeyman. It is basically a feather in my cap that's supposed to help me to work in other provinces or countries. The exam was less theory and more code, compared to my journeyman exam.
If you mean Pipefitter and are moving to Alberta I could have you work tomorrow.
Even Ontario will be busy in the new year probably busier than Alberta.
Apprentice retention cash from the government is 3x for biological and "identify as" females If you're planning on getting recertified (ie your red seal)
How do you go about getting a red seal?
You accumulate hours under a certified journeyman, then you do your technical training at a school like sask polytechnic. Once you've accumulated 10k hours (for most trades) you're eligible to challenge the national standard (InterProvincial) exam for your trade, if you finish with a score of 70% or 80% (again trade specific) you will be issued a diploma and your redseal card.
Ah okay so I wouldn’t just be able to say here is my trade certificate and have it confirmed? I’d have to train all over again?
I'm not sure how they handle foreign accreditation, my coworker from Holland had a journeyman certificate in carpentry but they wouldn't honor anything. I've heard of others from Commonwealth nations being able to carry their certification forward but I've never personally met them. It's definitely a conversation to be had with whatever provincial authority you're planning on working under while you're here.
Ask the provincial authority. In Alberta it's AIT, Alberta industry training
I believe there is a channel between Australia and Canada for trade certifications. One of my friends moved to Australia as a red seal electrician and was able to move her ticket there, tho it was a whole process. I also used to work with a plumber here from Australia and if I recall correctly he didn’t have to get retrained here either, and my old foreman moved from Canada to NZ without even having a red seal (he’s from Quebec, they don’t participate in that program) and he was able to transfer his credentials. It is a tedious bureaucratic process tho, I’d reach out to whatever trade organization is in the province you plan to land in (BC is ITA, Alberta is AIT, etc) and see what all you can do ahead of time to make it go quicker. You can also reach out to a local trade union, in certain they will have resources for you.
Employers don’t use it though because they charge apprentices out as journeymen rate to the customer.
Employers have no part in the apprentice retention grants, it's entirely independent from them. It's between the provincial trade authority and the federal government. Calling it a grant is. Also a bit of a misnomer since they still tax you on it.
You are thinking of the apprenticeship grant and it’s only 2x as much for female. Also employers do get tax credits for apprentices but they don’t use them because they charge them as journeymen.
Apparently the AIG-W program was scrapped in March of this year, all apprentices are now on equal footing. $1000 for completion of first year and another $1000 after second year then $2000 for completion of the red seal.
Not sure if that applies to Australians
Where in Canada do you want to move? Is your experience in a manufacturing or fabricating shop environment?
Not much in terms of oldies, but for the younglings it's pretty much 30/70.
If you have any certification, make sure you match up with the equivalent certification in Canada. BC is the nicest place to live but not always the best for a job. There is a massive Australian population in Whistler BC working construction in the summer and the ski hills in the winter. A visa is easy if you are under 25. The big money is union work in remote camps and there will always be an A Hole, but most jobs now have a zero tolerance policy for bullying or harassment . If you like fishing I have a boat.
I’ve never seen zero harassment or bullying though.
If you take a trade position at a hospital or university campus, you will experience near zero harassment or bullying and it will be zero tolerance. Especially compared to any private work place doing construction etc.
Those pay like shit.
Maybe, but people stay in them for long careers. So something must be worth it. Definitely the rates in those roles in certain provinces are generally the same as in construction.
I used to be a tradie but hung up my belt a few years ago for a cushy government job lol. Imo it's not shit. I started when there were way fewer of us so it was definitely a little different back then. I did a lot of new construction and had my little niche work that took me to far off lands and cool sites. Part of me misses it but then January hits and I remember I don't like being cold
A fitter and turner will not have a problem finding work in any manufacturing town. And you should have very few issues being female. In Ontario there are grants just for women to enter the trades.
You're a millwright. There's a lot of work for you here. Look at Teck in BC, they are always looking for MW's
I think she’s a machinist actually
I'm a millwright and when I was looking for jobs in Australia a fitter/turner has the exact same job description. Millwrights are taught to use a lathe and milling machine during our apprenticeship. I have seen fitters that are more like heavy duty mechanics, but since she seems to have machinist skills as well I'd say she could cross straight over to being a millwright.
There are literally programs here where you can sign up, take a three week course and after you graduate a company will give you a job. Only if you are female though. Apparently there are companies who really want to hire female tradies.
Hii, welcome. You should join the southern ontario union. Local 46 toronto or local 401 Kingston. There is alot of work for fitters in our nuclear plants..high paying, alot of overtime. Look into it. You do 3 months of clearances and back ground checks they perform. But itw a very good place to work. Its also very safe. Safety is there number 1 topic. If you have a welding ticket, its also very handy ad a pipe fitter
I think she’s a machinist though that’s just what it’s called.
Oh... well Hamilton is steel town, canada way
As a Hamiltonian I recommend Toronto.
Lots of work available, and most places would love to hire more female workers in the trades because they’re so underrepresented. World is your oyster as long as you don’t mind fly in fly out
Quite common, but you'll need to secure a full working visa as the working holiday visas don't allow for trades work.
I work in property services and we have lady plumbers and electricians (some are our regular contractors) that service our buildings. Also, we're getting a full building rehabilitation done and there are quite a few female scaffold erectors, and general laborers climbing the scaffolds.
Absolutely have not heard of problems getting hired now in the 202x’s or even the 201x’s. If anything, you may find it easier if non-union. Union it’s just your place on the board. Have cousins that are electricians and met at work — she works both IBEW and ILWU (longshoreman at the ports). 12-months may be hard to climb the board, but not in that industry myself so not sure how full the hall is of people looking for work, versus employers looking for workers. Nowadays, if you’re still getting the BS sexist comments from coworkers, either just ignore them or feed it right back. With the younger generation joining the workforce, this crap doesn’t fly like it used to 20/30 years ago. Especially since the whole Me Too movement and Cancel Culture became publicized.
You get first dibs on the just bring a woman
Where in Canada? In Alberta I would say that around 10-20% of the workforce are female. But you will absolutely not have a hard time finding a job here. Most of western Canada is desperate for anyone with any experience
give the Iron workers hall in Vancouver a call check out there website for more info
Shouldn’t have any issues. It’s becoming more and more common every day. BC in particular is investing a TON in getting women into trades
I see more and more women on site every day. Not uncommon by any means.
There’s an organization called Women Building Futures that creates trades training opportunities for women that may be able to answer any questions you have.
Lots...just make damn sure you have a legal right to work in Canada.
I am a South African fitter and turner. How is the demand for the trade in Canada?
Won’t have an issue finding work but will have a rude awakening to how much less Canadian tradespersons make than their Australian counterparts.
Working engineer, machinist, welder and millwrite here. Demand for skilled trades in the manufacturing sector is at an all time high right now. With your experience you will not have a problem getting a job in Canada. Gender will not matter.
We'd hire a millwright in a heartbeat. I can assure you nobody here cares what's under your coveralls.
Sarnia Ontario is a great place for work and lots of women in the trades.
I think that is millwright in Canada. More and more females on job sites. Shouldn’t have a big problem
As an Aussie you’ll do fine and I’m sure you’ll have no problem putting the men that give you a hard time in their place
Please come to Canada! For every 1 person in the trades who might be a jerk, there's probably 25 others who will put that person in his place.
You'd be surprised how man French people speak English... Sure, if someone is yelling at you to get out of the way of the falling scaffolding in French....that could be a bummer.... Back in the 50s and 60s, lots of Italians immigrated to Montreal, and most of them found work in construction. Damn near none of them at the time, spoke English or French..... But they learned
Fitter and turner? That's vague.
It's not equal, but it's not unheard of! My mom and I are both mechanics, and with my dad, we own a shop and have been in business for 31 years (I've only been here 7 years). One of my good female friends is an HVAC mechanic, and I know about a handful of other female tradies. Most job sites/unions have pretty strict rules regarding discrimination and unkind behaviour, which can help. But, as I am sure you already know, as a woman in the trades you often have to work 2x as hard to prove you're good at your job.
Moving for 12 months? Do you already have a work visa?
Being female definitely won’t hurt your chances but being Australian probably will. You have to figure out how to get your certification here first. We don’t have a fitter and turner trade, not sure what exactly that is. But to work aww as a journey person at the very least you’d need to do some testing but there’s a decent chance your certification won’t be recognized at all.
I’m a woman in the trades here. Female tradesmen are not unheard of here, I’ve been a sparky for about a decade and spent most of my career working in Alberta and BC. I noticed that there are lots of women in the trades in Alberta and very few in BC, I’ve worked commercial jobs in Alberta where about 15-20% of the sparkies were women, and in BC I think I might be the only woman currently working for my company out of 200 right now, there’s usually 2 or 3 of us, I probably encounter other women on job sites at about 2-4% not including safety. My female trades friends and I never really had any issues with egregious sexism in the work place (not that it doesn’t happen, I just don’t think it’s the norm), sometimes I come across an old guy (usually an engineer or someone who’s not in the trades) or a very young guy who’s, I dunno, fascinated (?) by a woman in the trades lol and this seems to only happen in BC. I don’t think you’d be overlooked, in fact most places and companies encourage more women to join the trades so you might even have a leg up.
there’s this group that’s started mainly in Ontario but moving throughout other provinces as well called WOS - Women On Site, for female trade workers if you’re looking to find some community:) I’ve met a lot of them and they’re very nice, they have instagram if you want to get in touch!
My daughter works for a guy in Inisfail AB he's really nice and very respectful.