McKenna Goodwin is a Red Seal General Carpenter with 6 years of experience working in the construction industry. She has worked in residential and commercial construction, in both union and non-union environments. McKenna started her apprenticeship at 16 years old through the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) doing a full-time one-semester co-op placement in both grade 11 and grade 12. She went on to work in union environments after she graduated high school from age 17 until 21. At age 21 she received her Red Seal Endorsement and went on to be hired as Career Coach with Build A Dream at age 22. She has previous experience as a mentor for pre-apprentices in the Sisters in the Brotherhood Women’s Employment Readiness program (SIBWER). McKenna is also the Vice-Chair and a Technical Committee member for the development of the CSA Z301 Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility in Apprenticeship Programs standard.
If you don’t see an appointment time that works for you, please email our career coach at mckenna@webuildadream.com and she’ll do her best to accommodate your unique schedule.
Career Coaching Services
Starting off in the trades as a women or gender diverse person presents its own series of unique challenges. Build A Dream is pleased to offer two valuable free services for anyone working in or looking to work in the red seal skilled trades.
Our free career coaching services offer a series of one of one virtual session with our qualified career coach to discuss a variety of workplace issues including.
- Upgrading your skills,
- Help with pre-apprenticeship training and apprenticeship placements,
- Job hunting, resume writing and interviews.
- On the job issues such as isolation, bullying and harassment.
- Job advancement
- Financial Empowerment
In many cases, the biggest hurdles women face when entering the red seal trades are financial. We have established the Contingency Fund, which will grant funds to women and gender minority persons who are experiencing financial stress due to work expenses. These funds will be granted on a case-by-case basis in an amount up to $375.00 for expenses such as;
- Work related equipment such as steel toed boots, tools, safety clothing, safety glasses etc.
- Unexpected childcare costs such as paying for a babysitter for a sick child or for overtime and shift work.
- Exam and certification fees
- Skills or coursework upgrading
- Unexpected work-related travel expenses
If you are in need of urgent funding for any of the above expenses, please book a consultation with our Career Coach.