The Journey to Journeyman with Skills Canada Alumni Chelsea Dyck

Jason Cox: 0:00

Hello and welcome to Watt's the Word, a show connecting the electrical industry through relevant conversations. I'm Jason Cochran along with Zack Hartle, we're hosting passionate members of the electrical industry. We want to hear your stories and learn from each other. How's it going, Zack?

Zack Hartle: 0:16

Going good today Jason, how are you?

Jason Cox: 0:19

Doing great Watt's the Word my friend.

Zack Hartle: 0:22

Today, pretty thrilled we're joined by Chelsea Dyck. She's a red seal electrician with a diverse career from resi to industrial commercial. Now doing some service with an H vet company and actually starting her H vac apprenticeship. Cool upbringing as an apprentice and a cool story to how she got here. Now she's an advocate for young women to join the trade as a career path. So welcome, Chelsea, we're really glad to Glad to have you here.

Chelsea Dyck: 0:51

Thank you for having me.

Zack Hartle: 0:53

How we start every episode, as we just want to hear a little bit about how you got to where you are now, you know, tell us about yourself and your background. Yeah, let's start with that.

Chelsea Dyck: 1:04

Well, so my real plan when I had or when I was going to graduate high school and wanted to go into the political field, I was going to take political science in university. My background before that was very art driven. I was doing like higher level English and social studies classes. And then high school came to an end. And I realized that maybe I wasn't 100% sure that I wanted to go to university for what I had chosen. Then I realized, well, why don't I take a year off of school, and all kind of figure out what I want to do. Then once I made that decision, I said, Well, I obviously need a job. I can just been around for a year, like I need to work. So then an opportunity had come up for a labor position at an electrical company. So I took it, I said, You know what, let's give it a shot. My mom had been in that field for a very long time. So she she said, You know what, just go in, do your best, you're probably going to be just digging trenches for three months or whatever. But it's something so I said, Okay, let's go and let's see how it goes. I ended up starting at a multifamily site, they had just poured the first foundation of the building. And I did what my mom told me to do. I worked my butt off. I just did what they told me to do. And I started on a Monday and on Thursday, I got indentured, never happens. It took me four days and I knew guys that waited till like the very last second on that. The 30th day of the third month they had been working there. And they got indenture finally but I super super rare. But all the foreman and the journeyman that I was working under they told me that they saw a lot of potential in me because I worked really, really hard. So then I worked in multifamily for about a year. And throughout my journey in there, I did everything so I started out with doing the worst jobs, I was just sweeping floors, I was digging trenches, I was pulling coral lines through the slab and all the jobs nobody wants to do. And then I did. I did a few sweet Ruffins but I didn't really like it. So I asked me something else. And then I did like fire alarm public ran all the horn strobes and exit lighting and essentially I did everything and then I did finishing right at the end of my first year before went to school. And I started getting a little taste of like troubleshooting because we started turning the power on so I can go through and fix everyone's mistakes. And then after that I went to the to industrial so I was doing like at Colgate stations. I did a little bit of industrial service and then I went off to to commercial buildings for a little bit. And then once I was done in commercial, I came to do controls and EMS systems for a few months. And then I landed at my current position after that and I'm just a service electrician for a Plumbing Heating As an air conditioning company,

Zack Hartle: 5:02

that's something we want to get a lot more into. Because you're kind of working in a almost a little bit of a niche field, or with a company that doesn't typically do electrical. But I mean, going back to that first year there, you were lucky, you saw a little bit of everything. And I'm personally I dug trenches for like 11 months, all I did was use PVC glue and a shovel. That was all I used for 11 months,

Jason Cox: 5:26

I thought it was interesting that you mentioned waiting, the typical three month time period before you're indentured and much like yourself on the same thought process of of post secondary training, you and I would have been looking at similar courses. And then I fell into an apprenticeship as well. And at the three month mark of working for the company doing all of the terrible jobs that I had to do, I was taken into an office, I had no idea and that was the day where they indentured you. So I'm good for you for being able to do that so early. And it sounds like the company that you started off with, you're on the same project for for that whole year. So it's so nice to hear that you were able to get experience in different areas. And then of course to I might be rambling a bit here. But for you to be able to actually tell your employer, you know, I really don't like doing that part of the job and for you to be able to move on and look at something else. So so we have what an experience there just to start. That's That's very impressive.

Chelsea Dyck: 6:34

I think I always say that I got so so lucky with the foreman that I started with my first few journeyman that I started with. I was so fortunate to have them because they were incredible. I've heard a lot of stories of like young apprentices starting and girls starting in the trades, and they got treated horribly. So I got very lucky.

Jason Cox: 7:07

Well being treated horribly was I mean, that was almost a rite of passage, whether you were a man or a woman, as an apprentice in the trade. I mean, that's something that thankfully has changed quite a bit over the years. Just the amount people were just, I mean, tortured, or, I mean, now it's against the law now to do a lot of the things that they they used to do to us so so it's great to hear that you had some really good people training you and obviously they they were very impressed with your work ethic. So so that's that's commendable.

Zack Hartle: 7:42

Did you know On day four, they pull you into the office? You know, you've been you said your four days? Did you know then that you wanted to stick it out and be an electrician? Or were you just excited that they are willing to indenture you and saw that work ethic but still unsure? Or did you know at that point that it was for you?

Chelsea Dyck: 8:00

Honestly, I think like my first day, I was like, This is awesome. I love them. Even though I was doing really shitty jobs, but it just like, you guys probably know, I just feel so fulfilling to like, have a task and complete it and like see how nice it is and see the good job that you did. It's just so satisfying.

Jason Cox: 8:28

Well, I think it might sound corny, but there's still several buildings in the city of Calgary that I drive past. And when I see the lights on, I go Yeah, I did those lights or, I mean, there was there was a newscast on just the other night that featured a school in Calgary. And on the front of the school, there's a fiber box and a rigid two inch pipe. And I'm like, there's my pipe, there's my fiber box. So there is there is always that accomplishment that that you can see from from your work, especially when you can actually see what you're doing or as opposed to other tasks where you had a good day of customer service. I mean, you really don't. There isn't evidence of that success that day. So that's, that's cool. It's great to hear that you definitely were so excited about your apprenticeship. I remember. I don't want to tell too many stories here. But I was an apprentice working for one person electric, and I was digging the trench and I was like this is ridiculous. Like I do not want to dig the trench. And he goes well, you're the laborer. That's what you do. And I'm like, okay, and I go, Well, how do I not do this? This is like, in the second week, he goes, Well, you have to become an apprentice. I was like, Okay, and so said, Well, I'll do that. And so, in time I became the apprentice. And the day I got my indenture mentor hap or whatever we call that signed the contract. The next day, I was like, okay, so what am I doing and they're like Well, you're digging the trench. I'm like, But I'm an apprentice. And they said, Yeah, but we just had to let our labor go. So you're gonna have to do the job. And it's, it's funny because I knew nothing about apprenticeship when I started. It's, it's totally different. It's, it's, I mean, that's something for an entire different episode, we could talk about the lack of how apprenticeship is presented to students and to kids in school or adults, for sure.

Chelsea Dyck: 10:32

That's actually one thing that the skills alumni group of Alberta that I'm a part of, that's the biggest thing that we are trying to help, like high school students navigate through, because I've heard a lot of stories of people who they know for sure that they don't want to go to university, but they don't know like what avenue to take after that point. So we're trying to make it a lot more accessible for people to get into the RAP program. And we're trying to make a database of companies that are willing to take on first year apprentices.

Jason Cox: 11:10

So Chelsea, for for those of us that are not familiar with all the acronyms, can you explain briefly what the RAP program is?

Chelsea Dyck: 11:19

Yes, so the RAP program is the registered apprentice program. It's a way for you to get a feel for the trades while you're still in high school. And it can replace your option classes while you can still continue doing your core classes. I went to a conference for the Royal Bank of Canada two years ago. And basically the program that they were doing was called humans wanted. And there was a woman who owns a carpentry shop. And she said specifically, I do not hire first year because they're a waste of time. And I said, Well, how do you expect to have journeyman or third or fourth years that know exactly what you want them to do? And the exact kind of outcomes that you want from their work without starting from the bottom and training them to be the journeyman that you want them to be?

Jason Cox: 12:34

Yeah, I mean, there's a whole lot of investment that goes into those green apprentices. I forgot about it, but for years, the term was a starter. So when you started off, right, you weren't an apprentice. You were the laborer or you were a starter. And you knew nothing. I mean, I knew nothing. I don't know how, what, how I ended up in an apprenticeship. If you asked everyone I knew back then that you're what? Cox is doing an apprenticeship? Are you kidding me? Like he was going to be a history major. Like, I didn't know how my water my channel locks worked. I was like, these things don't work. Yeah, I mean, we need to we need to broadcast trades as a viable option for people. And we need. I don't like you said, I mean, there's programs like the ROP program and other pre training programs through some of the post secondaries. But yeah, people need to be trained, and people need to realize that it is an investment to train these new workers with the skills that your company is going to need. I mean,

Zack Hartle: 13:41

first of all, Jason, I've never seen you use a pair of Channellock. So I don't have proof that you can use them to this day. Chelsea, what you said that you said you're part of the skills alumni group of Alberta. Now because I know a bit about your background, how did you be commerce skills, alumni, maybe let's jump back a couple years and talk about that journey.

Chelsea Dyck: 14:01

When I was in second year school, there was an opportunity that came up for people to enter into the skills competitions. So for the electrical trade, there's two separate skills essentially, we have trade 18 and trade 19 Treat 18 is a residential slash commercial installation. And then we have trade 19, which is an industrial control installation. And I went into industrial control because at that time, that was the background that I was in, but I had a lot of fun and it was like a great or No, it wasn't a great it was an incredible way to learn more about what I was doing at work and more the possibilities of work that I can do in the future.

Jason Cox: 15:01

Sometimes if we get lost in what we're actually building, right, I mean, if you're in a giant building, the processes might not make sense for days and days and days, you're running conduit or pulling anonymous wire, you don't know how it's all going going to fit together, but in a skills competition or skills training, I mean, I would imagine that project is pretty condensed, and you can kind of see the distribution, you can see the switching, you can see the, the the outputs, right, so it kind of gives you an idea of of what you're doing. Yes, it does.

Zack Hartle: 15:36

Can you take a second and just describe that process of competing in a skills competition for our listeners who maybe don't know what that looks like?

Chelsea Dyck: 15:44

Skills Canada. Each province has their own competition we do in each region. So we do regional competition, provincial competition, national competitions, and then a world's competition. I first competed at Sait in the regional competition. And then we went to the provincial competition in Edmonton. And it portrayed 19 It's a two day competition, that they all differentiate from each other. So you can do like Plumbing, welding, baking, computer design, fashion design. Basically, every single trade has their own competition. So trade 19 is a two day competition. We install everything from start to finish, all walls are blank, we install our control cabinet, we have to program all the inputs, outputs on a PLC program. And then we have to verify and test everything. And I'd say about six hours per day, so you get 12 hours, essentially. And it is very difficult to finish. The two days I don't think I've ever heard of anyone actually finishing trade 19 In the two days, so very difficult. And then yeah, if you win at provincials, then you can go to Nationals. And then if you win there, you get to go to Worlds, which is pretty cool. Skills is like an international group, and they compete all over the world. It's pretty awesome. It's kind of like the Olympics for trades, I guess you could say. And the craziest thing to me is that skills is only like 17 years old till 21 years old. So you're getting all of these brand new apprentices who are just starting out in a trade. And they barely know anything, essentially. And they're, they're so smart, and they're so skilled, it's going to these competitions is insane, because there's 1000s of kids there. And the junior High's and high schools even come on field trips there just to watch everyone compete. And it's an incredible feeling when you see, like a bunch of junior high kids come down, and they're like cheering you on. And it's just awesome.

Zack Hartle: 18:19

Yeah. And also, like, as you said, you're you're about a second year when you were doing this, what an experience. I mean, to get to train, I know you probably spend some time training before the competition, to even learn all that's involved in a automated control process, in order to wire up all the inputs and outputs. And then like you see, even programming the PLC is something that's unfortunately almost unheard of, for a second year electrician, even most journeyman don't get the opportunity to actually program a PLC. So what a cool opportunity. And you mentioned that the look on the kids faces walking around. And I guess that's probably what kept you involved with the skills alumni group of Alberta. You say that's kind of your mission there is to keep that involvement going past that competition.

Chelsea Dyck: 19:07

Yeah, so after I competed, I kept in touch with the people that organize skills, Alberta. And I was really, it was a really awesome feeling to be involved in the girls exploring Trades and Technology Conference. It was a really cool they get like one or two representatives from each trade. And they have a huge group of I think grade eight to grade nine to grade 12 Girls, and they come down and we do this is all happening during the skills, Alberta events. So we get to hang out with these girls and get to have lunch with them. They can come talk to us and ask us about our career paths and what we do for work. work. And it's really cool because when I was there, there was three of us at the electrical table. So that was myself and I, at that time I was doing service electrical. And then we had another girl who is, she's the maintenance supervisor for a big oil company up north. And then we had another girl who's an electrical engineer. And so it was really cool to see people from different backgrounds. And even like, there was welders that there's people that do like the pressure welding, there was a girl that did like deep water, like ocean welding, which I thought was really cool. And then we get to take these girls around and like show them like, this is trade 19 This is trading team, this is what they're doing. This is what their outcome is supposed to look like. It was really cool, kind of opening up the conversation saying like, you don't need to go to university to have a good, fun, fulfilling, high paying job.

Jason Cox: 21:11

Yeah, that's, I mean, I've said this 1000 times outside of the podcast, but yeah, we really need to, to have society start to open those doors and broadcast career plans for people other than university. There's, there's tons of things you can do out there. And I mean, the best thing about trades too, is you're not going to have that hourly job for the rest of your life where you're just a laborer, right, you an apprenticeship, you're obviously building up your credential, you're coming out with a certification at the end, you can always use that wherever you're at. I mean, I've never even I've been in the trade for 25 years, I've never even heard of girls exploring Trades and Technology. So it's great, good, good for you for for being an advocate for that. And then obviously, with the alumni from skills to have these two programs that helped you with your career, kind of where you are today.

Chelsea Dyck: 22:09

Um, I would say they haven't necessarily helped me with my electrical career. But they've definitely helped me with my personal development. And how I kind of view my job because like, there's days where I go to work, I don't feel like I'm making a difference, or I'm actually helping people. But then it kind of gives me a purpose to be like, Okay, well, I had this really awesome entry into the electrical trade, and I want to kind of like, lend a hand and be like, Look, it doesn't have to be shitty. Like, if you need help entering the trade, or it doesn't have to be electrical, you can get into any trade. But if you need help, or guidance, or you just have questions, you can ask me, because I'll be totally honest. And I'll tell you what it's like

Jason Cox: 23:04

to hear that conversation come from a newer, journeyman female journeyman, versus this crusty old electrician. I mean, you're gonna open doors there to your, I mean, you've got an energy to you. It's, it's quite infectious. So

Zack Hartle: 23:22

Justin, we talked about this just before the show, and I thought your answer was great. And I want you to share with everyone so do you prefer the term journeyman, or journey person?

Chelsea Dyck: 23:33

I like to be called a journeyman. Because, essentially, I work my ass off my entire apprenticeship. And I'm going to have the same title as everybody else.

Zack Hartle: 23:48

And that's, that's a perfect answer. I mean, you started in the trade. So So, so young. And I mean, I know you've worked very hard and your story shows itself that you've worked very hard. Starting so young, and now you're a journeyman and we'll get into it again. You're starting even a second journeyman ticket. Did you face a lot of struggles along the way?

Chelsea Dyck: 24:09

I don't think so. Like obviously, stuff is hard. And people don't treat you that great all the time. But when you weigh like, the bad things that happened and the good things, the good is always so much better. Like I had, I had a guy just walk up to me out of the blue and just straight up just said, I don't respect you. I was like, I was like, 18 years old. And I was like, what? I don't even know you. So, yeah, that was interesting. But at least again, I was pretty lucky because one of my I had a fourth year electrician working with me at the time. And he likes about for me you knew like no you don't say that kind of shit to her like yeah, so and was one of the guys that just started on our electrical crew as well. But he honestly didn't last very long because he had a piss poor attitude. So

Jason Cox: 25:10

it's funny. I've seen that before in the trade where certain people just flip a switch. When they get their certification, they become a journeyman. So I don't think it's as common anymore. But it was like, You're just an apprentice and we're the journeyman. And I'm like, like, listen, dude, like, this has been my apprentice for four years. Like, I'm glad you just got your ticket, but like, show some, like, we're humans here. Let's, let's let's treat each other like humans. Oh, exactly.

Chelsea Dyck: 25:35

And it's like for me, I, the day that I got my journeyman ticket in the mail was when I started my H back apprenticeship. So going from the top back down to the bottom again, like, obviously, I've done a lot of H fac, like troubleshooting and maintenance. And I've replaced like hundreds of rooftop units and makeup pairs and air conditioners and all that stuff. So I do have a good understanding of most stuff. But I still I'm not quite at the position yet where I can kind of say that I'm really good at doing H back and refrigeration.

Jason Cox: 26:17

Well, H back. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong here. But you're doing a ton of troubleshooting.

Chelsea Dyck: 26:27

A lot specially like the service side of things. All troubleshooting all the time. So essentially, yeah, I just run around with my meter all day.

Jason Cox: 26:40

You got to know how to use that meter. That's a very important piece of equipment.

Zack Hartle: 26:45

And we hear about that transition from the electrical trade into the H rec trade. It's it's almost a common one, right? If you're thrive in the troubleshooting of the electrical trade, then it's a good fit to go into that H vac refrigeration trade. And there's no denying that that trade has. It's such a vast trade just like our own right, there's so much to know and understand. So to have that opportunity with the same company that you're with and kind of do that dual role is something that definitely is desired by many I'm sure.

Chelsea Dyck: 27:18

Yeah, it's, it is so beneficial. Having two tickets, because so when you get, let's say, for example, for me, I got my electrical journeyman ticket, that I'm going to go into effect refrigeration, and if I can get my gas aid ticket or my CASB ticket, then technically I can go and do anything involving like gas heating, air conditioning, electrical filtration or anything. And instead of having to send an electrician, I guess tech and H back Refrigeration Technician, they could just send one person. There's a lot more cost effective. And it's better for time management.

Zack Hartle: 28:04

I think. I just don't even know how you'd store all the stuff in the van at that point.

Chelsea Dyck: 28:11

Yeah, I might have to get two bands, or trailer, I can get a trailer maybe.

Jason Cox: 28:16

Great job security, too. If you have more than one skill set. Obviously, you'd be working a lot more. Oh, exactly. Yeah. All right. I have a I have a question. It's kind of off the board. I was reading online. I saw your career profile on on a site called Let's Talk Science. So it obviously you mentioned that you have some interest in science. And the interesting thing on your profile, it says that you mentioned that you never really wanted to be in the classroom. And I thought that was interesting. And I totally understand it seems that many, many of our apprentices, especially in electrical, but probably in other trades, too. They like working with their hands. They like being in the field, they dread going back to school. So when I was reading your profile, I thought, well, here's someone who's who's now graduated. You're now in another trade. What sort of advice would you give to our apprentice listeners out there who are stressed out about attending school?

Chelsea Dyck: 29:20

Trade School is a whole completely different ballgame than high school or university. It's the difference is insane. So like going to high school. I didn't enjoy it. I hated how all the teachers just talked at you. They didn't really talk to you. Whereas if you go to trade school, your teachers are skilled people in the trades of their teaching. So it's easier to ask questions and have a conversation with them. And they can explain to You like real world? Examples? Rather than having a teacher who's like, Yeah, well, I don't know. This is how you write an essay. And that's it. You know, it's just, it kind of links this, this physical stuff that you're doing at work to the technical things that you're learning in school. And kind of seeing everything in a physical world. And seeing everything on paper really helps solidify that knowledge in your head. And it's just the relationships that you have with your trades teachers, compared to your high school or university teachers, is totally different, because you're more like, obviously, you still have a professional relationship, but you have a more peer to peer relationship with them. And it's so much easier to learn, and kind of listen to them every single day for two months. So and that's the other big difference between going to university and going to high school is it's only two months or a year. So it's if you can focus, like really focus on school for two months, then that's it, you're done for another year. So except for electrical modules, three months in fourth year, so which is very difficult. That was hard for me.

Jason Cox: 31:28

Yeah, there's a bit of a transition there for weeks, nine through 12. For sure. I mean, I think you're correct. I think that there is that when you're talking to your instructors at St. Neat, wherever you're going, those people were in your shoes, too. So you have that you have that link, and you can compare and use examples from industry. And then of course to you also have a whole bunch of people in your class that are in the exact same boat you are. And when I went to school, we worked extensively together, my, my cohort of students, when I went to school, we didn't have 1000s, of electrician, apprentices. There was only a few classes each year, so so we would know all the all each other, and we would work collaboratively to get through stuff, even if those instructors weren't as nice and friendly as you portray them.

Chelsea Dyck: 32:22

Yeah, I find like, even being at school, like, generally, most people really want to be there, like this is the career path they have chosen. They really enjoy it. And they're super passionate about learning about the electrical train. I mean, obviously, some people aren't super passionate, but I ran into a lot of people that really, really wanted to be there. And it was beneficial for everybody else in that class, because you have someone who was really, really good at industrial installations and someone who's really good at commercial, and then another who's good at residential. If you don't have a very diverse skill set, you'll use there's people there that can help you with a real world example for something like there's the industrial guys have probably never, like wired up just a normal light switch in your house, or like put in just normal lights. So there's things that the people who are more like well rounded in the residential side that could help them out because I know first year, you have to do that house project where you have to, you know, draw, or all the light switches and the plugs and stuff go. So if you've never physically done that before, it might be a little difficult for you.

Jason Cox: 33:45

I know that there's quite a few apprentices and they actually find their next employer while they're in school. Earlier in the show today, you explained that you have worked in different areas of the trade, how how did you decide to move from the residential to the other areas?

Chelsea Dyck: 34:03

I've only worked at two different companies. The first company I worked for had a division for everything pretty much. So that's kind of how I got all the experience that I did. I started out doing one thing and then either my foreman was like, Hey, we have this opportunity and the other division Do you want to go or I said, Hey, I know that these people are getting some more work and maybe go over there for a few months. So it wasn't like I was going to different companies every year, whatever. It was just different divisions in the same company. And then I went in right after third year, I went to my current company. And because we have a couple different divisions as well, I got some more experience that way. But it was honestly I just had to ask I just had to say, look, I've done everything in this Here we have the trade. I need something new.

Zack Hartle: 35:04

I think that's one of the coolest parts of the electrical trade is there's. So it's such a big trade. I mean, you say you've done everything we all know here that you haven't done everything. Right? Like even light switches. There's a new one every week, it seems. But there is that opportunity to grow and to change and what you said there is you just have to ask, and that's what you hear we hear from so many apprentices Oh, well, I've just been putting in lights for three years. Have you asked to do something different? Or have you explored the opportunity to go somewhere else, and I understand how hard that can be during a, you know, a little bit of an economic downturn and everything like that, but, but that's a great piece of advice. And that's, you know, advice I always give to people is Ask, ask questions asked to do something else asked to be moved into a different area. So the fact that your company had the different divisions is huge. But I mean, there comes a point that maybe sometimes, especially during your early apprenticeship, it's time to jump around and see if you can find a different employer to get that experience.

Chelsea Dyck: 36:04

Yes. Even when I started doing service, electrical, I didn't really, like I was, I had a little bit of a service background, it didn't have a ton, but I knew like, I had a good understanding of troubleshooting. And one thing that really helped me develop my skills more quickly, was I had people from the plumbing and the HX side calling me and asking me questions. And if I, if I knew it, I would tell them exactly what the problem was, or like where they could kind of the avenue they should take to find a solution. But if I didn't know, I just said, You know what, I don't know. But maybe I can call someone or I can look it up, I can do some research, and I can find the answer for you. And that was so beneficial to me in my learning. Because if no one had asked me those questions, I would have had a reason to go and look it up myself and figure it out, essentially. Yeah, and then now like, I'm the only electrician at my company. So it's kind of my responsibility to like field all these questions from everyone and have a solution because there's nobody else that can help.

Jason Cox: 37:28

Different question here for you right off the bat kind of timely, you're working for an H fac company. So heating, venting air conditioning, that's H fac Correct? Yeah. What is COVID meant to you and to your H back company.

Chelsea Dyck: 37:46

So all throughout the pandemic we didn't, we didn't stop at all, there was no option. Like there was no ability for us to just close our doors and saying no, we can't help anyone because like we were just coming out of heating season, it was just the end of March. So heating season is ending, we're going straight into cooling season, we didn't really have an option to close down at all because like floods happen, people's power goes out. Like you know, like there and you need, like ventilation and buildings, you need to have your MAKE IT BETTER running. So you can pull fresh like outside air into your building and make sure you have enough oxygen. And so COVID didn't really affect us very much. But it just affected the, like the processes of how we did our jobs.

Jason Cox: 38:46

Have you been called upon yet for different changes to filtering and different sorts of sanitary air cleaning with your company.

Chelsea Dyck: 39:01

There's a few few buildings that we have in Calgary that wanted the HEPA filters put in. So we ordered them and the only issue with that is they're a lot more expensive. So a lot of people said, You know what, let's put HEPA filters in. That'll help kind of get rid of like a little bit of a jersey. It doesn't 100% really do anything. But it definitely helps. So there was a few people but then a lot of people couldn't afford it. So it wasn't really an option for them.

Zack Hartle: 39:36

About the UV lighting. I mean, we talked about it a little bit on it with our guests last week but just about the advances in the UV germ killing lighting that they can now install in your ventilation system. Have you seen much of that going in?

Chelsea Dyck: 39:49

Um, we haven't seen a huge like uptick in that. There's a lot of houses like if you have kids with asthma or you have lots of pets or like your, let's say your elderly parents live with you and they are prone to getting sick. It's definitely a good idea to put them in. But I haven't seen a lot of people install them because of COVID specifically. So but it's definitely a good idea, like a lot of restaurants like they'll have a huge border, around their kitchen, all their exits and whatnot, they'll have those UV lights to just help contain germs and stuff.

Zack Hartle: 40:31

I mean, on an off note, AI he was the guy last week was saying that they're like, some of the bigger commercial scale stuff just isn't CSA approved yet. But it's huge in like Chicago and stuff, they're kind of down in the States, there's, so I think you'll probably see it coming a lot like on larger scale commercial jobs as well. So

Chelsea Dyck: 40:51

a lot of it comes down to costs, like there's a lot of condo companies, like condo rental companies, that it's not really in their annual budget to get more expensive HEPA filters and UV lights. And it's condo fees are already very high in the city, and something that we've noticed, being in all of these buildings. So it's hard to justify increasing them even more.

Zack Hartle: 41:23

The fact that you're getting into your second ticket now is something that's so cool, how you're still so passionate about the trades, and you're kind of expanding your journey in the trades. I know you're spending a lot of time and putting in a lot of effort both on your own time too into getting young people into the trade and showing them how good of a career opportunity it is. Maybe we can just talk a little bit about girls exploring Trades and Technology and the skills alumni group of Alberta, which we touched on briefly before, but what are you doing with those groups? And how our what's the impact that you're seeing?

Chelsea Dyck: 41:58

For the girls exploring trades, a technology conference and listening a lot more girls like, considering the traits as an avenue that they can take. And it's not necessarily like, it doesn't have to be like a quote unquote, like manly trade, it can be like fashion design, or computer design, or baking or culinary arts or something, it doesn't necessarily have to be a dirty job like electrical even though it's not very dirty. It's pretty clean most of time, but like even plumbing, or welding or something.

Zack Hartle: 42:36

So would you say it's it's more getting into the apprenticeship model type careers instead of college or university? Right, just another avenue to find that career basically, right?

Chelsea Dyck: 42:47

Yes, exactly. And then with saga, so the skills alumni group of Alberta, basically, we're just starting to focus more on professional development opportunities for our alumni. So that includes our alumni events and our volunteer opportunities for them. So if you compete in a skills, Alberta competition, or if you even compete in a, any of the other provinces or Skills Canada and you relocate to Alberta, you can be a part of this group, you can find us on the skills Alberta website, it's just skills alberta.ca. And then even if you didn't compete in the skills, you can still get a hold of us. And we can, if you're willing to teach young people and tell them about your job, you can be a part of our group. And then it's also it's like a fun and it's a low commitment community. So even if you have just, let's say, one day a year where you want to come out and do a volunteer event with us, that's fine. You don't have to be working every other day, like for two hours in my like making up brochures and pamphlets and coordinating events. It's super low commitment. And then so you can sign up for our newsletter as well. It's just on the skills Alberta website, there's a little tab for saga. And then a big thing for us is we're just trying to help people pass the competition to help connect with their peers and connect with better opportunities. And when it comes to trying to incorporate younger people into the trade, we're trying to create that database that I had mentioned before for people in the rap program.

Zack Hartle: 44:54

Thanks so much for coming on today. Chelsea just to talk about your journey through the trade and about the opportunities And tell us about the work you've been doing to get people, young people, especially, you know, boys and girls interested in the trade, I think that's something that we all know is a hot topic right now about presenting the trade as an effective alternative as a career path. I mean, Jason and I have made something of it, and you've made something of it. And the more stories we can get about how it can be such a good place to have a career and then raise a family and make enough money. It's something we'll never stop talking about on this show. If people want to learn more about the work you're doing, or if they want to get in touch with you, where can they find you? Where can they learn more.

Chelsea Dyck: 45:39

If you want to learn more about the skills, competitions, skills, Alberta competitions, the girls exploring Tracy technologies, skills, exploration days, and skills, alumni group of Alberta, you can go to skills alberta.com, there's a lot of information on there that you can take a look at. If you want to get a hold of me personally, you can go to my link in it's just my full name is Chelsea de there's a ton of resources on there as well. I can see my Let's Talk Science article. I have my videos from the girls exploring trading Technology Conference. And then if you have any questions, you can always send me a message. And I'm totally willing to help you if you have any questions get about getting into the trades or finding different options for yourself.

Zack Hartle: 46:34

Awesome. Well, that's great. Yeah. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Chelsea Dyck: 46:39

Thank you.

Zack Hartle: 46:41

Thanks to all our listeners for joining us today on Watt's the Word. We're coming to you every second Monday with a new episode exploring our great trade. Please Like Subscribe, listen to the show, share it with a friend. You can reach out to us on Facebook or Instagram. If you want to get a hold of us and share your ideas for future episodes. We're really glad you joined us this week and we're looking forward to the future shows keep yourself safe out there and if you can someone else to

Jason Cox: 47:12

very good haha it's not bad. It's really good.