RICHMOND, Va. — A camp in Central Virginia is working to change the face of the construction industry.
The National Association of Women in Construction's (NAWIC) Richmond branch held a day camp for middle school girls at Henrico's Adult Learning Center in Regency Mall, to teach them the ins and outs of the industry.
Students at RVA's Camp NAWIC got hands-on experiencing using science and math to complete projects during the week, like building their own HVAC system and testing soil.
According to Volunteer Alison Mullins, only about 11% of roles in the construction industry are filled by women. Mullins said many people are choosing not to explore the trade, leaving holes in the workforce.
"Now we have this entire community that's aging out and we don't have the workers, so we have to do our part to educate and enforce the reckoning of wanting to be able to go and work in construction, so that we can encourage bodies to fill these roles," Mullins said.
Several of the students have family members who work in the construction industry, like Alyvia Petry.
"I'm just trying to learn from my mom and just take after her footsteps and become a project manager and get to experience what she experienced on a daily basis," Petry said.
Other students said they're hoping their involvement will help change the way women are represented in the field.
"A bunch of guys do this stuff, so now we're a bunch of girls doing it, so it's like changing it, kind of," said Alexus Groome. "So that's really cool."
"It's all men working but you never see a woman working on machines and stuff like that, so it's really nice to know that there's other women doing this," said Paige Stone.
Mullins said the camp also helped students overcome their fears of using tools or getting their hands dirty.
"These are skills that are life skills. What about owning a house? Renting an apartment, or having to fix something that's broken in your kitchen?" Mullins said. "That overcoming of fear and just that little tidbit of knowledge of being able to see something and be like, 'Hey, I know what that is.' That is the coolest, most satisfying part of this whole thing."
