Careers of the future requiring vocational or technical training
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« I went into the field of my choice and i’ve never looked back! »
Alain Duperré, age 39,
Kindergarten Day Care Educator
“The doors open wide when you’re a guy going into the day care field: believe me, guys are really in demand! As soon as I finished my course, all these schools came courting me. I was able to pick and choose!
A man brings a different type of energy that’s very sought after. For example, in the schoolyard, educators often organize soft activities like drawing with crayons or dancing. But I like to play ball with the kids or organize hockey games in the winter and soccer games in the summer. I like to keep things moving! I’m not as demonstrative with the kids as my female colleagues but I show my affection differently. Having a mix of male and female educators creates a good balance in a day care.
I’ve been doing this work for over 10 years and I’m really happy. It takes a lot of patience but men have patience too! I’ve always loved taking care of kids. I spent a lot of time at summer camps and I was a camp monitor for four years. I worked in the hotel business after that but I missed the kids, so I went back to school to get a collegial certificate in day care studies. There were only two men in the program and over 50 women. One time in history class, the teacher told us about how women flooded the job market during World War II and I blurted out: 'That’s when our troubles started! Needless to say, I got quite a talking to (laughs)! Fortunately, there were no faux pas after that!
I’m the only guy in a team of 12 where I work. But our boss is a guy. Obviously, being a “visible minority” can be intimidating at first but soon enough, you stop thinking in “guy-girl” terms and come to see that it’s about the people you have an affinity with. Guys are appreciated, which is gratifying. My handyman skills are quite in demand! I recently offered to build a birdhouse for this activity. I spent all day working on my saw bench at home.
When I came to work the next day with 40 birdhouses, I was a big hit, let me tell you! Also, when interdepartmental meetings are held, the few male educators who attend are taken very seriously when they speak.
The parents are also like seeing their kids mingle with guys. I’ve never had any negative or unpleasant comments. Not from a father, or a mother, or anyone. My family, my friends and everyone else have only been supportive and encouraging.
Not for a second did I ever think to myself: 'I won’t work at a day care because I’ll only be around women.' That never even crossed my mind. I just went into the field of my choice and I’ve never looked back!”
« Working without a net ... it’s what we love! »
Alexandre Savard-Martineau, age 33,
Nurse
“I never look at my watch at work because I’m never bored! I run on pure adrenalin. Being a night shift nurse in the emergency room was tailor-made for me. You can start the night with no patients and end it with 20, some of whom may die. You’re working without a net. You have to act quickly and deal with all kinds of tough situations: heart problems, people injured in car accidents. Helping people when they need it is what we do. It’s what we love!
I could work on other floors of the hospital and get to know my patients better but I prefer the ER. Of course, no matter what floor you’re on, there’s no such thing as “routine” in a hospital: anything can happen and when you least expect it too! Things rock around here. I think I was destined to be a nurse.
See, when I was two, I was hospitalized and had so much fun that I didn’t want to come home! I considered being a doctor but there was a lot of quota-setting in those days, so I got my bachelor of biochemistry instead and landed a good job with an environmental company. Four years into it, when I was 29, I knew I didn’t belong there. Working in an office from 9 to 5 just wasn’t for me. I wanted to help people, only I wasn’t sure how. Then, as fate would have it, I was hospitalized for the second time in my life. A male nurse took care of me in the ER and then it hit me: 'Guys can be nurses too!' That experience awakened my interest in hospital work. A few months later, I started nursing school.
People like having male nurses on their teams. It changes the dynamic and reduces interpersonal conflicts. We also bring a different energy to our patients. We have a more – well, a more masculine attitude! All the doctors respect what we do. Our relationships with them are great.
Oh, I almost forget! Because of our physical strength, the women like having us around when a patient becomes aggressive or agitated. People on drugs can be that way. Obviously, tenderness and empathy are essential in this profession, but a good nurse also needs to be firm.
And last but not least, in this profession, you’re guaranteed a job when you graduate! In fact, hospitals grab them up before they even graduate. I landed a full-time job six months before I earned my diploma!
It’s funny, after a long night shift in the ER, my colleagues and I all wonder why in the world we do it. But then as soon as we get home, we can’t wait to go back to work! Nursing is our passion. It’s as simple as that!”
« I can do the job as well as a woman »
Bruce Sénéchal, age 37,
Office Automation Technician
“'Well, I guess he won’t be wearing any skirts!' I heard that a lot when I got my first full-time job at a shoe manufacturer. The guys at the plant had never seen a man do secretarial work. They couldn’t get over it!
When I enrolled at O’Sullivan College, I really just wanted to develop basic work skills in French and English, computers and accounting… I honestly didn’t expect to find myself in an ocean of women! We were 4 guys in a class of 32 students. Let’s just say we didn’t go unnoticed! Although things worked out fine in the end, I must admit that I almost quit in the early days, which would made been the biggest mistake of my life because I love what I do.
When the people at the college saw my skills, they encouraged me and eventually helped me find a job. I think they were very happy to recommend a male candidate. All my job interviews went very well. I never felt that employers doubted me or my skills for a minute. On the contrary, they all wanted to give me a chance and I never disappointed them.
Being a secretary requires structure and organization, which I have in spades! I think my reliability, rigour, punctuality and perfectionism have even changed people’s minds about what a man can do. Of course, I still enjoy proving that I can do the job as well as a woman. After all, why wouldn’t a man be just as capable of succeeding in this field as a woman?
People often tease me about my work, but never in a derogatory way. I should mention that I’m not a secretary in the traditional sense. There are secretarial programs offered in secondary school, but the Office Automation course that I took leads to a Diploma of Collegial Studies. But since the two programs are related, people confuse them. To be honest, the word “secretary” turns me off. It’s so reductive and stereotypical. It conjures up images of a mousy secretary doing her nails while waiting for her boss to tell her what to do. It’s an unfair portrayal and so far from reality.
In any event, a man shouldn’t deprive himself of going into the field of his choice just because it’s female-dominated. You have to follow your heart and persevere.
I now have a full-time job at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. I work in IT Security. It’s a stimulating, diversified and motivating job. I even get to travel across the country. When I first interviewed for the position, they told me that contrary to popular belief, most of the jobs at the RCMP are held by women which, of course, wasn’t a problem for me, having had plenty of experiencing working with women!”
Do you enjoy straying from the beaten path?
Does becoming a pioneer and entering a sector where men are less numerous interest you? Teaching, nursing, social work, and a variety of other domains, need everything different that you guys can bring. Your way of thinking, of working, of acting like men. We need you! So for those of you that are bold enough, have composure, are intelligent and want to slip away from routine, give it a try!
Go for choice!
In the case of non-traditional programs for guys, it seems that there are more than enough! Whether you have high school, college or university training, you have lots of choices.
For example:
With a diploma of vocational studies (DVS), you can become:
- Nursing aide
- Dental assistant
- Pharmacy assistant
- Etc.
With a diploma of college studies (DCS), you can become:
With a bachelor’s degree (BAC), you can become:
