RBC Women in Trades Blog

  Posted by Meghan on: December 6, 2021

The RBC blog is back, tell a friend.

The RBC Women in Trades blog has always been a place over the years to highlight all the amazing trades women we have connected with and tell their stories, their triumphs, their careers, and the supports which have helped them along the way.

It has also always been a place where we highlight events, leadership conferences, mentorship engagements and networking opportunities. We have had many such events featured over the years and we were looking forward to more to come when in March 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic struck, affecting the students, the trades school, and the world.

Upcoming events? Cancelled.

Upcoming conferences? Cancelled.

Upcoming classroom speakers? Cancelled

Upcoming women in trades pub nights? Definitely cancelled.

Suddenly Women in Trades, TRU and the RBC supports had to pivot, as did everyone during the most unprecedented of times and so pivot we did. Face-to-face interactions gave way to MS Teams meetings with blurred out backgrounds. Lunch meetings were catered by Skip the Dishes and sanitizer became the new currency of the new world order. Classes were quickly modified to a mostly online format, a feat for trades work, and in person events became something of a bygone era. The supports for women from the RBC Women in Trades Coordinator became more individualized as the need for mental health supports rose exponentially and individuals struggled not only with their place in trades, but with their surrounding environment.

But like most, we adapted. Events were given a virtual spin, classes eventually resumed under the safety of face masks, which were generously donated by RBC, and women were able to meet some of the people behind the faces of online meetings for months. In September 2021, the campus was officially back at full capacity for the first time since March 2020.

With this re-opening has come a reinforced need and desire for women to have trade connections. There are more women connecting on campus despite having a difference of trade programs, year of apprenticeship or any prior knowledge of each other. Sometimes seeing another friendly face in the hallway is enough to entice a smile under protective barriers.

With this re-opening we are excited to start bringing you stories again about the trades women who inspire us, the events which connect us and of course the RBC support that have helped to keep us running this entire time and continues to do so every day. Follow along as we bring focus to all the many ways RBC supports women in trades initiatives, and how it will only shape the years to come.