Women are a vital part of the team at Amped Electrical Contracting
VICTORIA – Nigel Rose is amped up about opportunities for women at Amped Electrical Contracting.
Nigel, who is a Project Manager with partner Esteban Torres, who handles estimating and sales for the company he founded in 2008, says there are 9 women on the Amped team of 60 employees already, with plenty of room for more.
“We’d love to have more women join our team,” states Nigel, who joined Amped in 2013.”I would absolutely love more women to enter trades in general. As a trade, there is a shortage of electricians right now.”
Genelle Lineham is one of the leaders at Amped, joining their team in 2015 earning her Red Seal electrician certification from Camosun College in 2019.
An Amped Electrical Contracting worker on the job
“I was detailing cars at a dealership and went to school to learn the trade,” Genelle states. “I was interested in the trade, and there seemed to be a lack of support for women in the automotive trade, and there didn’t appear to be any opportunities for me to move up where I was. I’ve always been interested in the way electronics work, so I saw it as a good opportunity for me.”
Genelle enjoys working at Amped.
“I haven’t had any pushback, and I’ve never had any issues with being a woman on the job site,” she says. “It’s definitely challenging, but I think that’s what’s good about it. It’s never easy, and I’ve had tons of opportunities to move up in my career.”
Genelle adds that she has learned plenty on the job working with colleagues.
“The hands-on experience is what the trades are all about,” she notes. “You can go to school and get as book-smart as you want, but being on the tools is where you learn the most.”
Nigel agrees, and points out that employees don’t need to have the provincial foundations course certification prior to starting with the company.
“There’s a myth out there that you have to take the foundations program to get into the trade, the reality is that the waiting period can be a year or more,” he observes. “But people can apply and get hired by the company without the foundations program or any experience. The thing is, when you take the foundation course first, you pay for it out of pocket. . .you go to school to get that training but you’re not compensated for it. But if you get hired first you can start making money right away along with gaining practical experience and during the course of school, you receive financial compensation from Employment Insurance.”
The key to success at Amped has been listening to customers and staff, and by providing fair value in the marketplace.
“Our growth has been achieved by the relationships we’ve built with our customers,” Nigel states. “We’ve experienced steady growth and continue to expand the scope of services we offer.”
www.ampedelecectricalcontracting.com
