See: Barbara James builds a path for future tradespeople in Squamish

Squamish’s Barbara James is a red seal carpenter, the president of the BC Trades Equity Society and a part-time instructor at BCIT in its School of Construction and the Environment.

James, who was raised in Squamish and graduated from Howe Sound Secondary in 2005, is also a mom to a young son.

She hails from the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nation in Port Hardy. Her ancestral name is Malizdas.

What follows is a version of that conversation edited for length and clarity.

Q: How did you first become interested in construction? As a little girl, did you love building things?

A: I was more of a tomboy, I guess you would say. I was always playing outside, catching snakes, catching frogs, and playing with the boys. It wasn't until high school that I realized that I really liked getting my hands dirty and building. I took shop class and enjoyed that. I took automotive mechanics in Grades 11 and 12, and I was really good at that. And I think those were my first As ever. And then I also did a work experience with Alta Lake Electric here in town, so that really opened up my eyes to electrical. I was just always interested in the trades.

Q: How was it starting out when you were in high school? Were there other girls in the class?

A: Nope, just me. I think I convinced my best friend to take mechanics with me, and she actually enjoyed it too, but she did not pursue it. I won a bursary in Grade 12 because I was the only female from high school who was going into trade school, so I automatically won.

Q: What made you choose carpentry?

A: It's funny because I did the Trades Discovery for Women course at BCIT. You can try about 20 different trades. I left that wanting to pursue electrical. I did not enjoy carpentry when I did it then. It wasn't until 2017, I was tying rebar, and it wasn't that great of money. And my boyfriend at the time was a formwork carpenter, and he suggested I try carpentry like him. I thought I didn’t like it, but I had never formed concrete, so I went and I did that, and his boss was like, “Wow, you're a natural,” and gave me a huge raise off the bat. So I realized, OK, there's potential here. So in 2018, I enrolled in my first year at BCIT, and I just kept going from there.

Q: What is formwork carpentry?

A: So all the concrete you see is formed with plywood that is nailed together. Carpenters actually do that work. We form the concrete.

Q: We hear there's been a lot of change in the trades, such as encouraging more diversity, hiring more women. But is that true on the ground?

A: It is slowly getting better. I'm president of the BC Trades Equity Society. We work towards inclusive work sites. We do mentorship, we do training. We support young and upcoming apprentices through the trades. We discuss toxic work culture. We do everything in our power to make it a more inclusive industry. So, it is getting better. People like myself and the other people in our society volunteer a lot of hours towards making their path a lot easier and accessible for the next generation.

Q: For someone who's reading this, and they're curious but intimidated by the trades, what are the pros and cons of a job in construction?

A: The pros for me are:

• It's like a gym membership. You're constantly labouring. It's a good workout.

• At the end of the day, you can stand back and look at a job and just be like, “Wow, I built that with my hands!”

• The money. I'm a single mother, and I support my son very well with my wage.

• There are a lot of different types of things you can get into with carpentry. You can get into renovations, new builds, concrete form work, finishing carpentry, and teaching.

• You can get into the union, and then there's lobbying and politics. Most of my apprenticeship was through the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC). I worked on the Patello Bridge, the Sky Train, YVR, and the Royal Columbian Hospital. If you want to make money and you want to get into an apprenticeship and get hours, there's a lot of work right now.

For the cons, obviously, there's still some sexism, still some racism, and some people don't necessarily take you seriously. So that's the change we're working towards.

I just feel like if people see me in this role, I feel like it's my responsibility to show the next generation what we're capable of. It wasn't always an easy path, but if we can make it easier for the next generation, then they'll obviously be more likely to choose trades at a younger age. We do a lot of work with summer camps, getting girls involved at a young age so they can realize, “Hey, I could become a carpenter, an electrician, a plumber, HVAC.” Just introducing it at a younger age so they're more likely to pursue it, just giving more opportunities.

Q: For a Squamish kid who is interested, what path would you suggest to follow?

A: I went straight to trade school out of high school. Not everyone has the same path, and I try to point that out. It took me years to finally pick a trade and pursue it through the apprenticeship. So don't feel like you have to do it straight out of high school if you want to go out and work and get experience. That's what I did—tried multiple trades before I picked one.

There's a lot of funding right now for trades foundations courses, which introduce you to the trades—you learn safety, how to use tools, and then you're not coming out green.

And I feel like employers are more likely to hire you because you've shown that you're willing to learn. So, right now is a really great time to get into the trades, just because of all the funding that's available, especially for women and underrepresented folks. And it's in high demand.

Q: What's one of the things you've worked on that you're most proud of?

A: I actually moved to Port Hardy, which is one of my hometowns. I grew up in Squamish, but Port Hardy is where my family is from, and I've helped build the big house, which is like a place of ceremony, built with heavy timbers, cedars, hemlock and spruce. And that was very important to me, because this big house was burnt down back in the 1960s when our people were forcibly relocated from Blunden Harbour to Port Hardy. So this has been a long time coming, and our people have suffered a lot because of that. So this is like community coming back together. As soon as I got my red seal and graduated from BCIT, I got on Indeed, and there was a job with K'awat'si Construction Company helping build the big house. It was perfect timing. It was just meant to be.

Q: What else would you like people to know?

A: I jumped into teaching for BCIT, and now I'm teaching net-zero ready skills. I'm getting into the green aspect of building, and I'm starting to build with intention and put my Indigenous values into my work. I teach these skills, high-performance building, and I've been doing a lot of work with Indigenous youth and Indigenous women. Now that is my passion. I feel like I'm aligning my values with my skills.

Q: What are some of those values?

A: Caring about the environment, building with intention, picking and choosing your materials that are better for the environment—that are going to last longer, that work well together, that aren't going to go to waste, and then just teaching these skills to the next generation so that they can grow up thinking about what we're doing to our environment while we build. I’ve done work at the Cheakamus Centre. We've been retrofitting all their cabins, which were about 50 years old. We bring in cohorts of youth, and we teach them these net-zero-ready skills. Now if you stay in those cabins, they are so nice.

My goal ultimately is to become a full-time instructor; however, you must hold your red seal certification for five years before applying for full-time teaching positions at BCIT.

So, I’m currently pursuing a bachelor of technology in trades leadership through Thompson Rivers University online.

I am also starting my own business to do side work.

James is available through her social media channels: bossbabebarb on Instagram and Barbara James on Facebook.

The Squamish Business Beat was developed in response to local demand for more business-focused news. To be considered, please reach out to [email protected].