News Article

Women in the Automotive Technician Service Program


6/6/2003 1:21:50 PM


Jennifer Moraze, West Bay, has been fascinated with repairing vehicles since she was little.


Angela Beaton, Stephenville, hopes to complete her Journeyperson's certificate after finishing the Automotive Technician Service program.

By Ann Shea

June 6, 2003 - While the number of women finding employment in traditionally male-dominated jobs is on the increase, the sight of a woman auto mechanic is still pretty rare. At College of the North Atlantic’s Bay St. George campus Fallon Flynn, Angela Beaton and Jennifer-Lynn Moraze are three women enrolled in the 43-week Automotive Service Technician (AST) program. All are hoping to soon be mechanics.

The AST program provides trainees with the skills and knowledge required to gain employment as auto mechanics.

Flynn, Beaton and Moraze are at different stages of their program as learning objectives in AST are individualized and students can enter the program at any point during the academic year if a seat is available. The women are all completing their required tasks and assignments on schedule.

Over the past few years Marty Madore, AST instructor, has noticed an increase in the amount of interest from females towards the program and says he sees some of the men in the class learning a lot from the women’s work.

“They are quite social and a pleasure to be around,” says Madore. “They are also leaders in the shop environment, especially in the neatness and pride they take in their work.”

Madore also believes that women bring great problem-solving skills, and says due to some women’s smaller stature they may have an advantage over men when performing certain repairs. For example, replacing a cylinder head on a smaller engine requires working in a small area, and having small hands or being more flexible can be a great help he says.

“I find the course challenging, it is very educational,” says Angela Beaton, one of the three women in the program. “It is something that I always wanted to do.”

Upon graduation Beaton hopes to work in the automotive technician field. Eventually she plans to return to college and complete her Journeyperson’s certificate.

Fallon Flynn, another woman in the AST program, has wanted to work in this field for as long as she can remember. Flynn enjoys the program very much and also plans to work in the same field when she finishes.

“I plan to own and operate a garage of my own someday,” says Flynn. “The other girls and I enjoy it. We fit in very well with the rest of the class. We share information with each other and help each other out.”

Jennifer-Lynn Moraze, the final woman in the program, watched her father working on automobiles for as long as she can remember, so eventually it became something that she loved. She says she fits in well with her fellow classmates and nobody treats her differently because she’s a woman.

“I’m a pretty easy going person,” says Moraze. “I think that I would even fit in with a barrel of monkeys! But my classmates are great and are usually there when I need help if I’m stuck.”

Like the other two women in the class, Moraze plans to pursue a career in the automotive repair field.

“After I graduate I plan to find a job in my field and hopefully build my career and future from there.”

-30-

For more information contact:

Stephen Lee
Communications Manager
(709) 643-7929

or

Tanya Alexander
Public Information Officer
(709) 643-7928