DANE, Wis. — The trade industry is one that has been and still is dominated by men.
Currently, the construction workforce is only made up of 11% women and Dawn McIntosh, president and CEO of CLE construction, is doing what she can to change that.
“I am very involved in just promoting the industry, I have done some projects with the Boys and Girls Club of Madison and we are developing a skilled trade center there,” said McIntosh.
McIntosh is one of, if not the only 100% owner of a construction company throughout the entire state of Wisconsin and through her efforts off the job site she hopes to change that.
“I was one of the cofounders of Women in the Construction Industry,” said McIntosh. “We are hosting our second annual 1 day conference for women on March 9.”
Currently, the construction industry has 334K job openings, the tenth largest volume of openings for any industry.
Recently McIntosh took Mylinda Heil, project manager for CLE construction, under her wing after she decided to shift careers.
“I have always liked the trades, I grew up around three brothers,” said Heil.
Heil wishes there would be more options for kids and women, in particular in the trades at an early age.
“I hope some high school kids really start thinking about what they really want instead of feeling like you have to take the path that is the least resistance,” said Heil.
Heil has seen local high school and middle school classrooms tour job sites, but she did notice that most of them were men.
“I am surprised at how many of the kids actually showed an interest, however I would like to say only 10% of those folks that came out were girls,” said Heil.
For women, Heil said they often have limited options when it comes to careers that do not require degrees.
Many women she has known have gone to be waitresses, nannies and teachers, but she feels there is much more opportunity for growth in the trade industry.
If your son or daughter is interested in working in the trade industry, the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center offers training programs.