Colorado needs more construction workers. There are just not enough people joining the industry to replace those who are retiring.
In an industry that has historically been dominated by men, one group is on a mission to get young women interested.
About 2,000 girls showed up at Transportation and Construction Girl’s annual event at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds last week. The group is dedicated to shepherding young women into those industries through education and mentoring.
There were roughly 70 exhibitors there, showcasing everything from how to mix concrete to how to direct planes into parking spots. At the booth for contractor Fiore and Sons, elementary school-aged girls were behind the controls of an excavator. Erica Sittloh was supervising. She’s been with Fiore and Sons for 12 years as a project manager.
“It's a great industry to be in overall. There's just a lot of opportunity. I love being a project manager. I'm actually the only woman project manager at our company,” Sittloh said. “The only one ever so far.”
Sittloh worked her way up from doing administrative work for a different contractor.
“I started in that project coordinator type role and then just wanted more. So I was like, ‘I want to be in charge.’ It turns out you have to be a project manager to do that,” she said.
Across the grounds, attendee Jasmine Martinez, a 14-year old from Parker, said she’s already interested in the construction business because her grandmother works for Caterpillar, the big agricultural equipment manufacturer, overseeing equipment rentals and purchases.
“She knows what company has them, she helps show them around where the stuff is, which I think is really cool,” Martinez said.
It’s important to fight against the stereotype that women aren’t strong enough to do these kinds of jobs, said Keller Hayes, the director of Transportation and Construction Girl.
“It’s hilarious when you see a woman who's like 4’8” crawl into her cement truck. You know what? She's got an extra step to get in and she's got an extra little thing on her pedal. But she can drive it as well as anybody,” she said.
Ashley Livingston is a senior at CSU majoring in construction management. She’s already got a job lined up with a general contractor after graduation. Growing up with three brothers may have helped her feel more comfortable breaking into the business.
“I've always kind of been around the world of surrounded by too many men and so that part wasn't really intimidating.” she said.
Chelsea Sewell was manning the exhibit for Wagner Equipment Company. She directed girls who were trying their hand at using a crane to lift a tire and place it into a container. Sewell is a mechanic and fixes equipment like tractors.
“We either fix it in the shop or we fix it out in the field if it's too big or it's better to fix it out in the field,” she said.
Sewell started young. Her father was a heavy equipment operator and he took her to work with him.
“There's nothing more empowering than showing up on a job site in one of these trucks … and taking something apart, putting it back together. And then you drive around that job site a few weeks later and you see how many machines you had a hand in putting back to work,” she said.
She says her company and others like it are eager to get more women on the job with companies struggling to find enough workers.
“We don’t want to be so focused on we need more women. We need more women to increase those numbers. They just want more people. And there’s only so many men out there, so why not try to get some women in here too?”
