Thursday, March 21, 2024

WECA held its annual Women in Construction Week open house on Thursday, March 7 at its California headquarters and training facility in Rancho Cordova, CA.

The event drew numerous women interested in exploring career opportunities in the electrical and low voltage industries.

Diane Trotter, WECA's Workforce Development Supervisor, hosted the open house.

During the open house, Diane hosted a presentation and Q&A session for attendees before showing them around WECA's state-of-the-art labs and classrooms. During the presentation and Q&A portion of the open house, Diane was joined by Autumn Jackson, WECA Commercial and Low Voltage Apprenticeship graduate and current foreperson for Vanden Bos Electric, Amanda Young, a second-year Low Voltage apprentice, and Hershel Baser, an Apprenticeship Consultant for the Department of Industrial Relations' Division of Apprenticeship Standards.

Autumn spoke about her current role at Vanden Bos Electric and shared what she gained from her apprenticeships at WECA, while Amanda discussed her current apprenticeship experience, stating that she enjoys learning things in class that she doesn't get to learn in the field because it makes her a more well-rounded apprentice.

For the lab and classroom tour portion of the open house, Diane was joined by Jimmie Slemp, Lead Instructor and Lab Manager, and LaKeal Morris, Commercial Electrical Apprenticeship instructor. Jimmie and LaKeal performed and assisted attendees with hands-on lab demonstrations.

Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in the Women in Construction Week 2024 open house! We were thrilled to educate more women on the merits of electrical and low voltage apprenticeships and careers in California, and can't wait to see them become WECA apprentices soon!