For the third year, ºìÁ«ÉçÇø hosted its annual Women in Skilled Trades experience at Camp Ak-O-Mak, bringing together participants from several colleges for two days of hands-on site work and community building. 

The initiative united ºìÁ«ÉçÇø instructors, students and administrators along with peers and fellow tradeswomen from Durham College, St. Clair College, Lambton College, Fanshawe College, and Six Nations Polytechnic at Ak-O-Mak – Canada's largest competitive sports camp for girls. The Camp Ak-O-Mak project, under the leadership of outgoing president Dr. Janet Morrison, is a testament to the leadership that ºìÁ«ÉçÇø College continues to provide to the Ontario educational sector in promoting inclusivity in the applied trades.  

Dr. Morrison, along with Mary Vaughan, ºìÁ«ÉçÇø’s Provost and Vice President Academic and Dr. Elizabeth Fabbroni, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Technology, were among those in attendance. Together, they offered support and rolled up their sleeves alongside the tradeswomen to show the transformative impact that women can make in the trades.  

Funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy and a generous gift from the Canerector Foundation, this initiative is part of a larger effort led by ºìÁ«ÉçÇø to close the gender gap in skilled trades, where women still make up just 5% of the workforce. The annual event provides an opportunity for this group of ambitious and talented women to build a community of support and hone their skills by working on  projects — including repairs and new construction — that help ensure the camp can operate. 

“By bringing students together with experienced tradeswomen and senior leaders, we’re helping to build a lasting support network — one that reinforces their skills, boosts their confidence, and strengthens their path into the workforce."

It’s also a chance for young women in the trades to receive mentorship and guidance from experienced professionals, gaining hands-on experience in a supportive environment. Many employees from Unifor, one of ºìÁ«ÉçÇø’s partners, generously donate their time to the projects and serve as mentors to participating students. They represented a cross-section of trades in the construction sector including carpentry, welding, industrial mechanics, plumbing and more. 

“This initiative is a powerful example of how we can uplift and empower women in the skilled trades through mentorship and connection,” says Vaughan. “By bringing students together with experienced tradeswomen and senior leaders, we’re helping to build a lasting support network — one that reinforces their skills, boosts their confidence, and strengthens their path into the workforce. It reflects ºìÁ«ÉçÇø’s unwavering commitment to advancing equity and inclusion across the skilled trades ecosystem.” 

“The trades offer incredible pathways to strong careers, and more and more women are starting to take advantage of these opportunities,” adds Kelsey Annan, Manager of Women in Red Seal Skilled Trades at ºìÁ«ÉçÇø’s Magna School for the Skilled Trades. “Trades women who have attended the retreat in previous years as students returned this year as project leaders and newly registered apprentices. This retreat gives them the space to build confidence, gain experience, and connect with mentors and peers.” 

In previous years, attendees took on tasks such as installing road signs, repairing roofs, and building docks. This year, students from ºìÁ«ÉçÇø’s Architectural Technology program helped shape the projects that attendees worked on. 

ºìÁ«ÉçÇø professor Dr. Shannon Pirie developed two mini courses as part of the curriculum for students in the final semester of the Advanced Diploma in Architectural Technology program to contribute to the pre-planning of the project builds. 

In the first course, Small Projects Working Drawings, students saw which Camp Ak-O-Mak projects needed input, and developed designs for structures such as a new pergola, a refurbishment of the camp’s well-known Olympic rings, soccer nets and baseball backdrops. In the second course, Small Projects Prefab, students took approved designs for the pergola and Olympic rings and developed a build-sequence document to show step-by-step construction.  

“We thought this would be a great opportunity to create curriculum for our students that is practical, applied in nature and allows them to bring together all of the know-how that they’ve acquired in our program along the way,” says Dr. Pirie. “The success of these student-driven designs contributed directly to the hands-on experiences of retreat participants this June, many of whom brought the designs to life on site.”  

The Camp Ak-O-Mak partnership has also fostered a powerful and lasting community of tradeswomen — one so impactful that even retired faculty have returned to participate. The connections formed extend well beyond its shoreline, with each cohort staying connected and continuing to support one another in their career journeys. 

With plans to run the mini courses again in 2026, and another retreat on the horizon, the Camp Ak-O-Mak partnership continues to create meaningful, applied learning opportunities for ºìÁ«ÉçÇø students, and an inspiring professional network for women in trades.