Massiv is a new-build shop, so I’m building dies for all the major OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] – all the big car companies – and sending them off to their production facilities.
After high school, I went to George Brown for pastry arts and worked in a bakery for a couple of years until I decided I wanted a new career. I discovered a school online called the Centre for Skills Development and Training and did a small pre-apprenticeship there. It was a six-month, introductory, get-you-a-job course. That’s how I found out about tool and die making. I did three years of schooling with my apprenticeship through Sheridan College.
My high school offered a machining course, and I’ve always been interested in trades, but as a female the option was never really presented to me until I decided to go into a second career. My father is in the trades and knew I had the skills, and my parents asked, “Why don’t you look into it?”
Having someone say you can become a tool and die maker made me wake up and realize it was something I could pursue.
Sheridan offered a great opportunity to meet 20 other people in the same field. You see a lot of different perspectives because everyone is working for different companies. In the classroom, people might bring up an issue at work, and five other people would have the same issue with different ways of solving it.
I was grateful that I worked for a company that cares about training its employees. Certain people at my school would be interested in finding a different place to work, and Mike Reid [a technologist at Sheridan’s Skills Training Centre] always had plenty of contacts and would offer that such-and-such company is hiring. There are definitely a lot of job opportunities out there. Business seems to be booming.
I came from a bakery where everyone I worked with was female, so tool and die, with an all-male workforce, was definitely a new experience. School was a stepping stone to the shop floor, a good way to introduce myself to how to work in this new environment. Everyone was really friendly. As long as you are a hard worker, ask intelligent questions and are smart about what you want to do, people will work with you.
I’ve had a lot of amazing opportunities with this career. Last year I took part in the Ontario Skilled Trades Competition in Waterloo. My company sent two of us to compete in a machinist competition against 10 other people, and I placed fourth, which was really exciting for me. I was proud of being able to do that as the only female in the competition. And I was the first woman from my company to actually become certified to write and pass the Red Seal exam (which allows qualified tradespeople to work anywhere in Canada without having to write further examinations).
We have a new female apprentice at my work, and I’m happy to have her. I want to be a leader to her and guide her and make sure if she has any struggles I can help her through them, because I’d love to see more women in the field.
WHERE TO STUDY TOOL AND DIE MAKING
Contestoga College (Kitchener) Mechanical technician – tool and die/tool maker: $2,241.44/semester. conestogac.on.ca
George Brown College (Toronto) Mechanical technician – tool and die: $3,645/year.
Seneca College (Toronto) Mechanical techniques – tool and die/mould making: $3,249/year.
Sheridan College (Oakville) Mechanical techniques – tool and die maker: $4,545.50/year. sheridancollege.ca
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