Staff and instructors at Red River College helped expose young women to an array of trades- and technology-related career options this summer, by hosting the Girls Exploring Trades & Technology (GETT@RRC) Camps over three weeks in July.

With a focus on technology and applied skills, the GETT@RRC camps provide girls 12-14 with a chance to explore non-traditional career options via hands-on activities and encounters with female mentors. The camps reinforce the importance of pursuing science, advanced math and industrial arts courses in high school, by stressing the impact these subjects can have on future career choices.

“During the five-day GETT camps, the instructor and assistants emphasize to the girls the importance of continuing with Math and Science courses because many occupations, particularly technical ones, require a solid grounding in these subjects,” says Dr. Dale Watts, Dean of the School of Construction and Engineering Technologies. “An awareness of that requirement at this age may provide the motivation for these students to continue taking Math and Science courses throughout secondary school.”

This summer’s camps — which took place July 4-8, July 11-15, and July 18-22 at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus — also gave participants the opportunity to learn hands-on, confidence-building skills by working with College instructors and volunteers to design and build plywood racers. The project taught the importance of teamwork, planning, sharing and compromise, and gave participants a chance to establish friendships with girls from other schools, cultures and backgrounds.

“The most important thing these girls learn from the GETT camps, along with some applied skills, is that there is nothing preventing them from pursuing well-paying and satisfying careers in any one of numerous trades and technology occupations,” says Watts.

Click here for more information on RRC’s Girls Exploring Trades & Technology Camps.

Note: RRC gratefully acknowledges the following organizations for their generous support of the GETT camps:

• PCL Constructors Canada Inc.
• Bird Construction Company
• Akman Construction
• Bockstael Construction (1979) Ltd.
• Derksen Plumbing & Heating
• Parkwest Projects Ltd.
• Wescan
• Graham Construction
• FWS Group
• Nova-Con Projects Ltd.
• Westwood Plumbing & Heating