Durham Tech helps women train for construction industry jobs

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Some motivated students marked a major achievement at Durham Tech on Monday. That's when they worked on their first construction project using power tools, a key element in a partnership between Durham Tech https://www.durhamtech.edu/ and Hope Renovations.

Vice President of Training Sarah Campbell told ABC11, "Hope Renovations is an opportunity for women and non-binary people to gain living wage careers in the skilled trades in the construction industry. So it's a career where there are lots of opportunities and there are good paying jobs, but there are not enough women in the industry."

"We have a lot of contacts with companies in the area. Residential builders, commercial builders, skilled trade apprenticeships, and employers. So we help them connect with what's the right path for them, whether it's to continue taking classes here at Durham Tech to gain their license in electrical or plumbing. That lets them go straight into a building career with an entry-level position, with opportunities for them to grow and expand their career.

"Hope Renovations started in Carrboro four years ago, and we saw the need to expand around the Triangle and even around the state. And the community colleges have been a welcoming partner for us. They have the space and they want to see more women in this industry. So they said, yes, we want to make this work. Now, where it's more accessible to more women in our community.

That's appreciated by the students at a time when men still work on most jobs in construction.

"I'm just excited to have the opportunity to be introduced to the construction trades. My background is in fashion development. I don't have a lot of technical skills, so I'm really excited to be in a space that is really welcoming to women and non-binary people. It's really safe. They're really patient with me, and I'm just excited to learn more about it," student Vessi Radieva said.

"It's an industry that I never had access to. You know, a lot of people are retiring within the industry, especially in the Triangle area. There's a lot of construction, there's a lot of opportunities. So definitely I can see myself getting a job. It's really empowering. You know, I'm Eastern European. My parents are very traditional. I told people that this is the first time I've actually had access to a table saw, a meter saw. It's true. My parents, especially my dad, he's like, 'Women don't belong in construction, women belong in the kitchen.'"

"You know, it can be really intimidating to go into a Home Depot or Lowe's and kind of be like, I don't know where anything is and know what anything does. And here, I had the opportunity to learn different hammers and drills and power tools. It's really empowering," she said.

The concept is embraced and supported by a woman who builds, renovates and designs homes with her husband from the business they own.

"Alicia Hylton Daniel https://hyltondaniel.com/meet-the-designer/ is a general contractor here in Durham, and she's been an inspiration to our trainees," said Campbell. "She's come and spoken to them about her path in the industry, and it's exciting to see the trainees have a light bulb go off in their head that it's like, 'Oh, if she can do it, I can do it.'"

"Women bring another level, right? First of all, it's equity, but it's also empathy," Alicia Hylton Daniel said.

"There's just a difference in how we think and build and also manage a project. So bringing women into this realm, into this career has changed the game. Clients will tell you that there's a different level that I bring to the project. And I'm not talking against men. It's just that we need a little bit of everyone. And there's just something that women bring that, you know, a lot of men don't in terms of being more empathetic. The fine details are what I always say that we bring to the project."

"I wish I could speed up the (hiring of trained students) process because we are small. We just don't have the bandwidth or the resources. But I just can't wait for them to really start getting into the field and getting jobs. And then sooner or later, you know, hopefully, Hylton Daniel will be able to hire them and bring them to our company. The sky's the limit, and I can't wait for it. I'll be here!"

Sarah Campbell invites women who are interested in learning construction skills: "Go to https://www.hoperenovations.org/ and sign up for an info session for our training program. You'll learn all about it. You'll get all the information and you can see if it's the right path for you in all the Triangle counties, Orange, Durham, Wake, Alamance, Chatham, Johnston and Lee."

"If you can see it, you can be it. That's what we like to say and that's what we like to show the women," she said.