Emma Tugwood-Cormack was a new, young mom when she took a leap of faith into a career in welding.
Bringing new life into the world has a way of clarifying one's perspective, and after her baby's arrival, Tugwood-Cormack felt a pull to make a change.
“I had my first son at a very young age, and he kind of pushed me to really think about my future,” she recalled. "What is something that is stable? How could I create that stable future for my son, give him the life he deserves?”
Recalling a warning at the time from industry about the dire need for skilled trades workers, she hit on welding as an answer.
After a brief introduction to the field — "I think I might have done one quick little weld," she laughed — she jumped right in.
Tugwood-Cormack, who moved to Sudbury from Manitouwadge as a child, enrolled in the two-year welding and fabrication technician course at Cambrian College.
While there, she landed a position in the school's applied research division, working and gaining experience as a welder before graduating from the program in 2016.
But the transition to a post-college career was more challenging than she expected.
Companies were just starting to embrace the idea of hiring tradeswomen, and even then many prospective employers wouldn't consider her work experience with Cambrian in their hiring decisions.
"I couldn't get a call back,” the 28-year-old said. “I couldn't even really get my foot in the door.
“So I went back to school for a year in automotive just to try and keep busy, and until I was able to get my foot in the door in a welding shop.”
She finally got a break from a local mechanical contracting company.
In desperate need of welders, they decided to give her a try and “I actually was able to start building up my résumé,” she said.
As she progressed through her career, she learned not everyone was as welcoming.
In some shops, she had very supportive managers and coworkers. In others, she said she got a lot of pushback from the other welders who would test her in ways they didn't test her male counterparts.
“I have met some really great people who I've been able to learn a lot from, and I think that they are the reason why I'm still doing what I'm doing in the trade,” Tugwood-Cormack said.
“By the same token, I've had instances where they're just throwing little tasks at me to see if I can do it, and I know what’s happening.
“Most of the time, I just have to do it to prove myself, because that's what being a woman in the trades is like, unfortunately.”
Along the way, Tugwood-Cormack and her husband were also growing their family, adding three more children to their clan. That meant she has often needed time off work to birth and raise her kids.
It's a delicate balancing act, she said, to show up for her employer and do good work, while also being available as a mom to four young kids. She feels lucky, she said, to have a very supportive husband who shares in childrearing duties.
Still, “being a mom comes first,” she said, which means that she's sometimes had to leave work early to pick up a sick child or deal with an issue at daycare.
And despite the numerable benefits welding offers, Tugwood-Cormack said, “I still wish that there was a bit more of light shined on that part of being a mom in the trade, because it is very difficult, and I feel like I'm working 10 times harder to make up for those times.”
A decade into her career, Tugwood-Cormack has been newly hired as a welder-fabricator with Lopes Ltd., which specializes in industrial fabrication for the mining, agriculture, chemical and oil, and energy industries.
Known as a plate welder, she mostly does custom fabrication, particularly on HVAC systems, large vessels, and other components for the region's bustling mining industry.
“I take pride in seeing something come from nothing, and looking the best it can,” she said. “It's just kind of rewarding in that sense.”
Lopes prioritizes family and community, and is supportive of hiring more women into the trade, which is reassuring, she added.
Though there are days Tugwood-Cormack said she feels like she's “operating on hard mode,” in balancing her work and family responsibilities, welding is a career she loves and encourages other women to pursue.
“Wholeheartedly, I do. I love being in the trade, and I love when I meet women who are aspiring to be in the trade,” she said. “No matter what part of it, it's amazing to see.”
Ten years after taking that leap of faith, she's still excited about the opportunities the future holds.
She's eager to learn more about the trade from the company's senior welders, and there are more welding tickets she wants to earn.
She's also developed an interest in occupational health and safety, with an eye to one day moving into a safety and inspection role.
“It's been a decade, but I still feel like it's a drop in the bucket,” Tugwood-Cormack said. “There's so much to learn still.”