By Ravena Gildharie

“WHEN I’m dressed in my romper with my shield, gloves and cover, I would hear the men remark ‘wow this little youth welding really good,’ and I totally enjoy the expression on their faces when I take off my shield and then they see ‘It’s a girl!’”
This reaction, Netasha James describes as the “juice that drives” her expertise in welding, a field that is still essentially dominated by males.
Over the past 10 years, James, a mother of four, from Wisroc, has been training student welders at the Linden Technical Institute (LTI), the same facility where she gained the skill almost two decades earlier. Since teaching, she also graduated a handful of female welders, who now practice the trade.
James was born in Buxton, in Region Four, but grew up in Blueberry Hill, Linden. She was inspired to become a welder at age 16 while watching a television advertisement with a female welder. At the time, she was a student at the Christiansburg Community High School and after graduating, she enrolled at LTI. She then took up apprenticeship training in welding at the Bauxite Company.
“I fell more in love with welding as I got to do more and more of it practically. People still feel that there are some jobs like welding which girls are not to do but, to me, if we have the ability to do it and want to do, why not do it?” James exclaimed.
She recalled being taunted by her male peers who held the view that she wasn’t skilled enough to perform on par with them. “As a woman, I’ve always had to do extra; women are usually expected to be [neater], and I’ve had to do a bit more work to be precise and to show the men that I am skilled,” the welder related.  “Men don’t expect women in certain fields and when I’m done and they admire my work, I feel achieved knowing that I am at a place where nobody expects me to be.”

‘Let your actions speak’
James’ own mother had reservations when she first embarked on her career path as a welder. “My mother wasn’t happy; she thought I could have found something else to do. At first, she was worried about the risks in terms of safety, but then she stated the real issue,

that ‘welding was not a thing for women to do.’ Call it stubbornness if you may, but, that actually motivated me because if you cannot give me good reasons why I shouldn’t be doing this, then I am out to prove you wrong,” she said.
As the bauxite industry downsized, James worked in the canteen and felt she didn’t fit in. She pursued teachers’ training at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and later taught Industrial Arts and Electricity at the Linden Multilateral School for several years before she started lecturing.
One of her younger female students, Sherlyn Knox, encouraged James to help others learn the skill. Knox is currently employed in the Aurora Gold Mines where she recently told local media operatives that welding allows her to be creative and she encouraged other women to learn a skill. She has been a welder for over 16 years since being trained by James.
And while the females have since welcomed James’ instruction, the lecturer has had to prove her skills to her male students.  “I once had a young man in my class who say to me, ‘Miss, I told my mom that my teacher is a woman and she said well I won’t learn anything in class.’ I decided to let actions speak and that young man did well and graduated. His mom was surprised at how much he had learned,” James revealed.
She observed that welding is a downtrodden trade in Guyana because people don’t totally understand the level of craftsmanship required. She stressed the importance of having the right tools and protective gear to practice. At LTI, James is challenged to teach in a constrained facility with limited gear but does her best to ensure her students are well rounded. Her classes usually include 25-30 students.
In one of her batches, two females, Michelle Phillips and Christine Dainty, after graduating, moved on to operate their own private welding and steel fabricating practice situated at Block 22, Wismar. They specialise in the fabrication of steel grills supplied mainly to customers in Linden and surrounding areas as well as Lethem.
 
‘Doing a man’s job’
Phillips, age 23, and a mother of one hails from Wakapoa in the Pomeroon River. She dropped out of secondary school in her teenage years and relocated to Linden with an older sister. She enrolled at LTI to “learn a trade” and entered the welding class.
“I had always enjoyed being among the males and learning to do things that they did so I signed up for welding,” Phillips explained. She noted that while some of the boys encouraged her to pursue the skill, some doubted her ability and she had to work hard to prove herself.
She noted that while they have been gradually earning the respect of customers, jobs are still slow.
Dainty worked with Linden’s popular welding contractor, Paul Jones after she graduated from LTI but later purchased her own welding plant and other equipment to start her private practice.
Ruth Mitchell of Blueberry Hill is another student of LTI who currently welds with Jones. She developed a passion for welding during a Mechanical Technology class she took at the Christiansburg/Wismar Secondary School while in the Technical Building Stream. After completing her Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), she pursued training at LTI and initially wanted to be in the electricity class but the intake was filled.
“I ended up in the welding class but I have never regretted it. I love welding because there is so much to learn…I have been taunted and provoked but I’ve had to grow tough skin and push myself to prove that I am a woman and I can do a man’s job,” Mitchell stated.
Now 26, Mitchell spends most of her days fabricating steel grills but also works on trucks. She is hopeful of doing an advanced welding course and to later pursue engineering studies at the University of Guyana.