Depending on how one looks at it, patience is either a rewarding virtue or the procrastinator’s guide to failure. Many have excelled thanks to deliberate thought. However, there has been equal success gained by those who don’t just wait around for good things to happen.
Take Regan Gamble, for example. Contrary to her surname, the 40-year-old was leaving nothing to chance when she arrived in Edmonton looking for career options in the fall of 2015. That’s why one of the first places she visited was the Alberta Aboriginal Construction Career Centre (AACCC) at NorQuest College. “I knew that there were organizations out there that could help me,” says Gamble, a member of the Beardy’s & Okemasis First Nation in Saskatchewan. “I just needed to get out there and find them. Once I heard about the Alberta Aboriginal Construction Career Centre, I was completely drawn to it.”
Another good part to this story is Gamble is now working full-time as an engagement advisor with Edmonton’s Women Building Futures (WBF). WBF is one of this province’s leading educational institutions preparing women for work in trade industries like electrician, carpenter, Class I Driver, and other heavy equipment operators. WBF has a record of career success for women within these industries at a consistent employment rate of 90 per cent.
But before that happened, Gamble needed help in her new city. Initially, she thought of going into the safety side of the construction industry so she used Alberta Aboriginal Construction Career Centre (AACCC), services to help earn safety tickets through the Alberta Construction Safety Association.
Through it all she was given emotional support by AACCC staff as a newcomer to Edmonton, provided with help to find information for things like funding, was given assistance with writing resumes and cover letters, and offered a treasure trove of contacts of employers and other helpful services. “I got everything I needed. The centre completely catered to my needs,” said Gamble. Which brings us back to the now. Feeling confident thanks to the AACCC’s support, and using one of her many provided contacts, she reached out to WBF to see if there was any way she could help. In the end, following an extensive interview, a way was discovered.
Seeing her tenacity and determination, WBF recognized Gamble would be a valuable asset when it came to attracting other Indigenous women to the trades. So today, because she reached out and asked for help, because she utilized the training and services the AACCC provides, and because she promoted her existing and new talents with confidence, Gamble has more than a job – she has a career.
