YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Youngstown native Robyn Laurier has spent the last few weeks building both a resume and her confidence. 

What You Need To Know

  • Youngstown native Robyn Laurier is leaving a job in retail to pursue a career in manufacturing 

  • Experts in the field say manufacturing facilities are much different from decades past  

  • The boot camp was held at Eastern Gateway Community College and educators plan another session open to all in August 

“Worked dead-end retail jobs, thought I could go somewhere, but it led me just to not a real career,” she said. 

The Youngstown native is using an all-women boot camp to shift her focus and prepare for a job in manufacturing. 

“One day my partner picked up a flyer at a convenience store, and he scanned the QR code, and not only did his life change, but mine as well,” Laurier said. 

Laurier once believed in the stigma that manufacturing is male-dominated, a lunch pail and a steel-toed boots job, with long hours, but that’s not always the case.

Pamela Szmara is one educator for the All-Women WorkAdvance Boot Camp hosted a couple times a year at Eastern Gateway Community College in Youngstown. 

She said the manufacturing facilities of today are much different from decades prior. 

“It’s more of an advanced mathematics will come to play, blueprint reading, schematic reading,” she said. “There are many job openings available in the tri-county area and these jobs definitely need to be filled.”

Laurier is relieved and excited to know that a good-paying job with growth opportunities may just be months away. 

She said she’ll forever treasure this experience and fresh start. 

“This workshop has given me the confidence to believe in myself, believe in what I know I deserve, and know my worth,” she said.

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