BOCES Spotlights Students in Honor of Women in the Trades Month

ALBANY/SCHOHARIE — In honor of Women in the Trades Month, Capital Region BOCES is shining a spotlight on the valuable contributions of women in the trades BY encouraging new women to pursue trades careers through highlighting the young women currently forging careers in the trades at the Career & Technical Education Center.

Whether it is in building trades, welding or heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration, the role women play in these fields is notable. 

Current Career & Technical Education students said they enjoy challenging peoples’ perceptions of what careers they should pursue and they don’t see any obstacles stopping them from pursuing a career of their choice.

“I can do anything a man can do,” said Serina Sylvester, a Heatly/Green Island junior enrolled in the Automotive Collision Technology program at the Career and Technical Education Center – Albany Campus. “I like cars and working on them,” she said. “It’s just something that inspires me.”

Fellow junior Lydia Waage is enrolled in the Heavy Equipment Repair and Operation program on the Schoharie Campus.

“No one, in my class at least, seems overly concerned about my impending womanhood, and I’ve actually made a bunch of really good friends that I never would have made if I didn’t come to BOCES,” said the Cobleskill-Richmondville junior.

An ‘untapped resource’

According to Workwave, women are in demand as an untapped resource for skilled workers in trade jobs, as there is a predicted shortage of the labor force and an anticipated growth in job opportunity. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that several skilled trades will have higher-than-average job growth through 2033. This includes electricians, HVAC-R technicians, and welders. 

In the construction industry, just 10.9% of the workforce identify as women and an even smaller percentage of women–just 1%–are on the front lines of a job site, according to a 2022 article published by BizRent.com.

One of the current BOCES students seeking to change those percentages is Niskayuna junior Fayth Goodspeed.

“I like swimming, and welding is interesting, so I want to be an underwater welder because I think it would be fun to combine my passions,” she said.

Women currently working the trades say they enjoy challenging peoples’ perceptions and see great opportunities for women who seek careers in the trades.

Take for example, Class of 2017 graduate Samantha Petrosino from Middleburgh who went on to college to pursue a degree as an underwater welder and Victoria Carl from Voorheesville who went to college for a career as a diesel mechanic and now owns her own business - Carl's Advanced Automotive & Truck Repair Center.

“BOCES is where I really found my passion. I always worked on cars, but BOCES I where I got into trucks and gained knowledge and really solidified what I wanted to do,” said Carl.

Samantha Travis, a carpenter and author of “The House that She Built”, told students last year that “I never went through the wishy-washy phase. The variety and practical application of carpentry answered all of that for me.” 

Travis encourages women students to “truly get out there and give what you want a try.”

Many opportunities at Capital Region BOCES

Capital Region BOCES Managing Program Coordinator-Business & Community Partnerships Nancy Liddle said she is proud of the work of the women students and graduates.

“We are proud to help such trailblazers achieve their dreams as they enter the trades in non-traditional career paths,” she said.

Capital Region BOCES Career & Technical School has long offered such opportunities for all students. For more information, go to https://www.capitalregionboces.org/career-technical-education/courses-programs/