Submitted by Carpenter Contractor Trust
In celebration of the 25th annual Women in Construction Week (March 5-11), the Carpenter Contractor Trust (CCT) is shining the spotlight on three women construction workers. In line with this year’s national theme of “Many Paths, One Mission,” the women share the different career tracks that led them to careers in construction.
Gina Yiantselis graduated from college in New Jersey with a degree in psychology but was unable to find work in her desired field. She says she stumbled on an article online about the Sisters in the Brotherhood, a community of women union workers that provides support, networking, and mentorship. She was then sponsored by a construction company while she attended the Carpenters’ Apprentice Ready Program (CARP), a program that teaches the soft skills of carpentry to prospective carpenters. She then continued with a 3-year apprenticeship program.
Yiantselis graduated in March, and will continue on as a project manager at the company she’s been with since 2019, which is one of the highest-paying union positions. She suggests that other women who might be scared of making a career transition into the construction industry, embrace the change.
Jenna Padeletti was working in the beauty department at a pharmacy in Baltimore and dissatisfied with her take home pay, when her construction worker fiance suggested she consider a job in construction too. “Now I work on a lot of tradeshows. I do drape and carpet, sometimes I build booths,” she said, explaining that her new job was much more interesting and much better paid.
Padeletti, who has three children, also finds construction work to be more flexible. Her jobs are project-based, so if she can foresee that childcare will be challenging or there are various appointments coming up for her kids, she can occasionally skip booking a job to tend to things and call the Mix 20/20 union dispatch line to renew her status as eligible for work after.
Jamie Poole was working at a warehouse that built incubators for newborn babies in Baltimore when she was laid off. While she had a college degree, she couldn’t fathom working a typical 9 to 5 job. “I’m a hands-on person. I like being active. I don’t like sitting at a computer,” she said. When someone she knew suggested she sign up for CARP five years ago, she thought she’d look into it. Now Poole has worked behind-the-scenes at tradeshows and convention centers. She says the work is fun and rewarding. “I like creating things and it’s something I can see myself doing in the long term.”
All three women followed different paths to land full-time work with benefits in the construction industry. They’re part of the 10.9% of women who work in the field, according to the latest figures available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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“If you want to do it and you’re afraid, do it anyway,” said Yiantselis, of pursuing a career in construction. “There are a lot of intimidating factors of working in a largely male dominated industry and what that might be like on the job, but I have worked with some of the best people and had the best experiences.”
