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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The Status of Women Council of the NWT held an industry gathering last week for former students and recent graduates who took courses under the council's Northern Women in Mining, Oil and Gas initiative.

The gathering brought representatives from the three Yellowknife diamond mines plus other project partners together with students keen to pursue job opportunities.

Trishia Smith of Dettah, a graduate of the women-only Trades Access Program offered by the Status of Women Council's Northern Women in Mining, Oil and Gas Initiative, attended a gathering of students and industry leaders Thursday – the day before she was set to write her trades entrance exam. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

"We wanted to bring in all the participates that have gone through various courses to speak to the employers," said Lorraine Phaneuf, executive director of the council.

"We actually brought in a lady from Fort McPherson to speak with employers."

The gathering, which took place at the Explorer Hotel in Yellowknife last Thursday, drew a dozen students, each armed with their resumes.

Among them were three women who completed the Trades Access Program, a program that equips students to write the federally-mandated Trades Entrance Exam, which is a necessary requirement of any apprenticeship.

The women were set to write the exam the next day.

Sharon Corneille, 31, of Fort Simpson, who wants to become a millwright, was visibly anxious about the test - but in a good way.

"I am so nervous, but yet I know I'll do good on it," she said. "I am so ready."

Corneille said she wants to be a millwright because the trade combines a variety of skills and offers many opportunities for travel.

"It's kind of a jack-of-all-trades position," she said.

Fellow classmate Trishia Smith, 24, who was also in attendance, studied for the exam for two hours every night for two weeks.

Inspired by her brother-in-law Paul Betsina, who works as a welder at the Rio Tinto Diavik Mine, Smith decided to take the exam to gain an apprenticeship as a welder, but also expressed interest in being an electrician

Smith, who was carrying around several copies of her resume, said she took the course to help provide for her four-year-old daughter, but she's not sure if she can be away from her for two weeks at a time while working at a mine.

"I'd have to try it for a bit before I decide anything," she said.

The third student was Darlene Porter, originally of Gjoa Haven.

The Northern Women in Mining, Oil and Gas will be offering two ten-day, women-only trade exposure courses this summer, said Phaneuf.

The first, geared toward heavy equipment operating, will be taught in Trout Lake to 12 local students in June.

A second course, aimed at training women to do summer maintenance work at small airports, will unroll in Hay River in July.

"There's a chronic shortage of airport maintainers in all of the communities that have small airports," said Phaneuf.