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THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2026
International Women’s Day
#IWD2026 #GiveToGain
March 8
Launching change
BY GEORGIA WIEBE
SUPPLIED PHOTOS Alana Thera is a Level 2 construction electrician thanks to the LauncHer into Trades program.
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LANA THERA SAYS she always knew she didn’t want a career that kept her behind a desk. For the past six years, she has worked as a hairstylist, but that wasn’t her first job choice either. “It was the only trade that I thought was available to me, being a woman,” Thera says. “Then, after I had my daughter, I realized that anything is possible. And that’s when I made the leap.”
the trades. But we also need the environment to support them. And that’s what LaunchHER is. It helps support the women who want to get in and stay in.” Today, Thera works as a construction electrician. She was drawn to electrical work due to family roots and because of the challenges that come with keeping a building running.
“I wanted the constant evolving, constant learning, hands-on problem solving. And when you finally get the result, and it can be as small as turning the lights on, you feel so successful,” Thera says. That drive to build and problem-solve didn’t just shape her career path; it gave her a purpose beyond the job site. “When young girls see women in hard hats, it expands what they think is possible,” Thera says. “It is really meaningful to be part of changing what the industry looks like. Being a woman in trades means I’m helping normalize it for the next generation.”
She joined the RRC Polytech Electrical Pre- Employment Program in 2023, which gave her the hands-on learning experience she needed. “I wanted her [my daughter] to look at me and think that anything is possible, and I can do anything, and that she can do anything as well. So that’s when I finally made the leap into a male-dominated trade,” Thera says. In October of 2025, after a coworker told her about the LaunchHER Program at First Peoples Development Inc. (FPDI), she joined the program. The LaunchHER Program promotes women in the trades to obtain their Red Seal in Manitoba and pursue a trade career.
“When young girls see women in hard hats, it expands what they think is possible.”
– ALANA THERA CONSTRUCTION ELECTRICIAN
Thera says she also hopes to be a source of inspiration for other women as they grow up. “Visibility matters. We as women belong in no matter what field you are in. There
“It is women genuinely committed to supporting women and not only getting into the trades, but staying in the trades and giving them the support and assistance that they need,” Thera says. Fellow tradesperson Cheryl Wiebe at LaunchHER was Thera’s mentor. They provided her with bus passes, textbooks, equipment and unwavering support. “I would recommend the LaunchHER Program to anyone who wants to join the trades,” Thera says. “They have been so phenomenal. We need more women in
is space for us. And that’s something to be celebrated,” Thera says. “It’s about knowing not only young girls, but women in general, if they see something, they can do it.” ●
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