Skills Work!® for Women – Toni Jones, Welder

One day, not long after getting her welding ticket, Toni Jones visited a trailer park on a contract job to make some repairs.  As she got to work, Toni noticed an elderly woman watching her.   By the end of the job, Toni had an audience of four little old ladies, sitting on the first woman’s porch, watching her.  They beckoned her over to tell her how impressive it was to see a woman do the same job as a man; that it made their efforts for women’s rights well worth it.  More than any other moment, that’s when Toni felt the pride of being a welder.

Even though Toni welded all the time on her family’s farm growing up, she did not obtain her Certificate of Qualification until three years ago.  A single mother who received no child support, Toni found job security to be elusive.  “Hobart was the first company to take a chance on me, and I’m so incredibly grateful to them for giving me that opportunity.  I make a good living, and my son and I are comfortable.”

 Toni acknowledges that there are ongoing challenges for a woman in the trades.  “I encountered more than a few men that refused to let a woman weld in their shop.  Women are only 3% of the skilled trade workforce.  I always tell young women that they have to have broad shoulders and be prepared to play with the boys if they want to go into a trade.”  Hobart has given Toni many opportunities to advance and to get more training and experience, of which she has eagerly taken advantage.

For the last year, Toni has been teaching welding at Georgian College.  She started as a volunteer, and when a paid position opened up, the college was thrilled to hire its first female welding instructor.  Toni has since been to a number of courses and seminars to help develop her teaching skills.   Although she’s still waiting for her first female student, Toni loves teaching and would like to continue down that path and expand her abilities as an instructor. “I feel like I’m creating a platform for acceptance.”

For several years, Toni has volunteered her time as a mentor in Skills Canada – Ontario’s Networking Dinner for Women program.  “I was never that girl who got perfect grades or who could write the 2500-word essay.  I’m not a book person.  I can be articulate, but I like to play in the dirt.  I’ve made mistakes and taken some wrong turns, but now I have this skill that has brought me so much.” 

Toni will be mentoring once again this year, at the Port Elgin Networking Dinner on November 4.