A Petite Millwright With Big Skills
When I was kid, I honestly dreamed of being everything.
But even when I imagined what I'd become one day and how I'd get there, I thought I’d be fighting an uphill battle my whole life. Every job I thought of didn't seem like something that could keep my interest or set me up for success. I thought about pursuing psychology, graphic design, cinematography, and even massage therapy. By the end of high school, I realized I had to pick something.
The crazy thing is that I loved my shop classes in high school. Yet I never thought about how that could translate into a woman's job. I was good at working with my hands, and I was ahead of my peers in my welding class. I was often called on to help other students and and to do minor repairs on the MIG welders. My welding teacher even encouraged me to consider a career in the trade. My response to him was, "Who would hire a little girl to do a man's job?”
Kendra Liinamaa, Millwright
I had to fight a stigma — a stigma I instilled in myself.
I wound up taking an extra year in high school and used it to do a co-op at a sign shop. I honestly loved making signs and applying vinyl wraps to cars. I grew up with brothers so there really weren't many surprises coming into a male-dominated field. Between that, my shop classes, and all my friends, you could say I was already well-trained for the things men would have to say to me — and more than well-trained about what I would say back! After all, I had made lifelong friends making fun of the guys in my high school welding class. We would often compete against each other and point out flaws in each other's welds. That set me up to constantly want to improve and look for ways to be better.
Anyway, it became clear that the demand wasn't for graphic designers. It was for the tradespeople. The summer after my co-op, I applied for millwright at Cambrian College in Sudbury, the small mining town I grew up in. For the first time ever, I was making the most of my education; I went to the gym in between classes and actively participated in classes. I still had my struggles, but I really wanted to understand what I was learning. It helped that my classes always seemed to have a lot of competitive and motivated people in it.
I chose millwright because I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do. But I wanted to learn a lot in hopes to one day understand how equipment operates just by taking a good look at it. As it turns out, I want to learn all of it, or at least as much of it the world is willing to throw my way. People tried to warn me that being a millwright, especially in the mining industry, isn't a job for a small woman such as myself. However, I quickly learned that my size meant I brought a skillset some men can’t. I fit into tight spaces of equipment, which allows me to reach nuts and bolts that would otherwise be a struggle to access. Sometimes, because my hand fits, we can just change the part we need or make an adjustment without taking everything apart to do repairs. As I've grown as an apprentice I've learned how to use mechanical advantage and leverage so I don't have to rely on my male partner to loosen tight bolts or carry heavy parts.
I’m honestly really lucky to have entered the industry when I did. After my first semester, I started an apprenticeship at City Welding as a millwright. I worked there throughout the summer and my final year. When I graduated from college, Vale, one of the primary employer’s in my hometown, was taking in more apprentices than they ever had.
I’m now happy to be part of a strong union, the United Steelworkers Local 6500. I’m really proud of how far I’ve come, and even more excited for how much I have left to learn. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the support of my Red Seals along the way. I feel like I’m setting myself up financially with a career I genuinely enjoy. To anyone considering joining an apprenticeship or going to college for a trade, consider how much you might gain. We're surrounded by the work of trades in our day-to-day lives. It's impossible to deny the potential. And there is no glass ceiling for your potential when you're the one who installed it.