Shenise Steele

About me

I was born/grew up in: I was born in Edmonton, AB and moved to Sault Ste. Marie, ON when I was 13 years old.

I now live in: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

I completed my training/education at: I took a 5-month program at APR Welding Academy, a private career college in Sault Ste. Marie. I did most of my apprenticeship training at APR Welding Academy as well, other than one year at Cambridge College in Sudbury.

I have my Welder Red Seal and Metal Fabricator Red Seal. I have all my position stick tickets from the CWB Group, including flat and horizontal flux core, metal core and gas metal arc. I recently received two new CWB qualifications for Robotic Welder Operator and Robotic Welding Programmer.

What I do at work

Where I work, we build locomotives (trains). I am one of two people trained in robotic welding. As a result, I work with welding robots to build the smaller parts of trains. These smaller parts are still 500 to 600-pound subcomponents! Robots aren’t as smart as people think. They often get things wrong so I’m there to grind down any welds that they do in the wrong place. Then I re-program them to fix any errors they are making. I always keep watch to make sure everything is being done properly. I recently became trained on a welding robot on a 90-foot-long gantry system. It runs along both sides of a metal beam, and needs programming and adjusting every time there’s a new beam put in.

My career path is

I went to a small high school, and at that time, there were two lunch periods. I ended up taking a Grade 9 shop class to get on the same lunch schedule as my friends. The shop class was half woodworking and half welding. I loved welding and took it all the way through high school.

I was going to continue with welding after school. But I was talked out of it because I was a girl. I switched gears and went to school for a one-year certificate in sign language interpretating. I didn’t’ feel right about continuing into a four-year program. So, I moved home. I tried a few different jobs, including being a server. I eventually found my way back to welding when my partner convinced me to try it again. I’ve been doing it ever since!

I am motivated by

I never want to stop learning! I want to get all the information I can. You never stop learning in the welding field. It’s always evolving, which is super cool. There is also a little push and competition in the industry to see who can do the better welds. This makes it fun. There aren’t a ton of women in the welding trade. It’s nice being able to help pave the way for women. I want to show them you don’t have to be a nurse or work in an office if you don’t want to.

How I affect peoples’ lives

Because of what I do, I help people transport things and be transported all over the world. At my job, we build trains and beams that go to India, Indonesia, Australia and more. What we build helps people stay connected and move through their lives easier and safer.

Outside of work I

I have three dogs, so I love spending time outside with them hiking. I love kayaking too. I also love reading and continuing to learn.

My advice to others

Always be open to learning, especially if someone is willing to teach you something. You never know what you’ll gain or how it will help you in your career moving forward. Also, especially as a girl in the welding industry, it’s important to not take comments so seriously and be able to roll with the punches.