Meet three women who have
embarked on careers in the utilities
industry. This program profiles
Melanie Young, a network operations
technician in the telecommunications
field; Laura Warkentin, a natural gas
systems planner who coordinates the
installation of gas main services; and
Nicole Brochu, a linesperson
accustomed to working at extreme heights. View a
preview video clip and read below for descriptions of
each segment, or scroll to the bottom to order!
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Melanie Young is a network operations
field technician for Microcell Connexions.
She maintains cellular equipment, doing
installations and repairs when necessary.
She also coordinates with several
contractors and the Microcell
implementation team on a daily basis to
bring cell sites on-line. She helps make
sure that everything is up to specifications.
Melanie joined the Communication Reserves of the
military after high school. She trained as a Radio/
Teletype Operator, but was more interested in the
technical aspect. While in the military, she took a
two-day course in Telecommunication Engineering
Technology. She joined the program and graduated
with a diploma with honors in Telecommunication
Engineering Technology. She even received two
scholarships.
“From a working perspective, my technical abilities are growing every day in
this field. As new developments are made, my knowledge increases just that much more.”
Melanie believes her skills will easily translate into any other future job. Along
with her technical skills, her personal skills are valuable in maintaining good
working relationships with co-workers, contractors, and the general public.
In the future, she would eventually like to design or invent new products and
services for the telecommunication industry.
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Laura Warkentin works for British
Columbia (BC) Gas. Her job title is
Technologist 2 - Utility Planning. She
designs and coordinates the installation of
gas main services for BC Gas' customers.
This involves a lot of planning and
preparation of cost estimates. She draws
up the plan, gets all necessary approvals,
arranges for the crews and ensures the project is completed well and in a
timely fashion.
When asked what she enjoys about her job, Laura says, “It is great working on
computers that are the latest technology. And I like working on projects where
you start at the very beginning and you get to see the finished project. Also, I
really like the customer service aspect of the job.”
Before Laura graduated from her technical college,
she was already working part-time with BC Gas on
weekends. She started full-time as a System Planner
on international projects then became a plant
designer.
The major reason why she would encourage other
women to enter this field is because of the wide
spectrum of opportunity. You can work on the oilrigs,
work off shore, and work in the utility distribution side of things.
Laura now plans to go back to school to take a one-year GIS course in order to
improve her employability in the future. GIS stands for Geographical
Information Systems, a technology that almost all utility distribution industries
are using now.
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Nicole Brochu is a linesperson for Hydro
Quebec. She started working for Hydro
as a temp, designing plans for lines
people. When Hydro decided to integrate
12 women in a non-traditional area, Nicole did a nine-month training program
in electricity and other skills.
Her work involves construction, maintenance, client requests, and dealing with
emergencies. She rotates climbing with her partner - one climbs while the other
helps on the bottom. Many times they use a lift truck. Heights don't bother
Nicole and she likes working outdoors.
Nicole admits that the work is physically demanding, although they have tools
and machinery to help. Danger is always present
due to the heights at which they work and the
presence of high voltage electricity.
Despite the numerous difficulties associated with
her job, Nicole finds much reward in her work. She
advises other women that this would be a great
career for those who enjoy teamwork, manual
labor, and working in all types of climates.
Click the image to the left
for a preview video clip!
Click to Return to Full DVD List
Developed in 2006 in Canada, the Career Options for Women series is an
outstanding resource for schools wanting to attract women and girls to Science,
Technology and Trades!
Please Note: These videos are an excellent depiction of women in these jobs
and are interspersed with Canadian salary and labor statistics, which are
similar to the numbers in the United States. As there is a no-return policy on
these publications, please make sure to look at the preview video clip for the
DVD(s) you are ordering.
Pricing - Career Options for Women: Emerging Technologies DVDs
