{"id":112923,"date":"2026-01-13T11:55:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T16:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skillscompetencescanada.com\/?p=112923"},"modified":"2026-01-13T11:55:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T16:55:15","slug":"forging-her-own-path-ronda-frigaults-experience-in-plumbing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skillscompetencescanada.com\/en\/forging-her-own-path-ronda-frigaults-experience-in-plumbing\/","title":{"rendered":"Forging Her Own Path: Ronda Frigault\u2019s Experience in Plumbing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>How a National Technical Committee Member Is Inspiring the Next Generation of Women in Skilled Trades<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When Ronda Frigault first stepped into the skilled trades 26 years ago, she didn\u2019t just pick up a hammer\u2014she picked up a mission. As one of only a handful of women working in construction in Nova Scotia at the time, and just the second woman in the province to earn a Red Seal in Plumbing, she learned early on what it meant to build a career where few women had gone before.<\/p>\n<p>Ronda now gives back as a National Technical Committee member in Plumbing for the Skills Canada National Competition, helping to guide and inspire the next generation of skilled workers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, one of the coolest things about being a woman in the trades is the independence,\u201d Ronda explains. \u201cI love being able to fix my own toilet or renovate my own bathroom. Those are skills I wanted from the beginning\u2014and now I get to teach them to others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Opening Doors for the Next Generation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Twelve years ago, Ronda began teaching at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC). As the college\u2019s only female instructor in her area, she quickly became a role model for students who had never seen themselves represented in a skilled trade classroom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I started teaching, there weren\u2019t a lot of women in the room,\u201d she says. \u201cBut little by little, more started to come. They\u2019d see me at the front of the class and think, I can do this too, and that\u2019s exactly what I want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NSCC now offers a free 14-week program for women interested in exploring careers in the trades\u2014complete with a workshop led by Ronda. Seeing students discover their strengths is one of her favourite parts of the job.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always tell my students\u2014and my kids\u2014that they can be anything they want,\u201d she says. \u201cIf they choose a trade, amazing. If not, that\u2019s okay too. What matters most is finding something they truly love.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Inspiring Confidence Through Techsploration<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Beyond the classroom, Ronda volunteers with Techsploration, a Nova Scotia\u2013based program that has spent 25 years introducing Grade 9 girls to careers in skilled trades, technology, science, and engineering.<\/p>\n<p>Through the program, students visit Ronda\u2019s workspace, learn about her career, and then bring what they\u2019ve learned back to their schools through presentations. Twice a year, dozens of schools gather for events where students meet role models from across the province\u2014and across industries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy the time they graduate high school, these girls have met over 350 female role models working in the skilled trades,\u201d Ronda says. \u201cIt opens their eyes to possibilities they may have never known existed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She recalls one event where students met a female astronaut. \u201cShe was one of the most incredible women I\u2019ve ever met,\u201d Ronda says. \u201cPrograms like Techsploration show young women that not only can we do these jobs\u2014we can excel at them. There\u2019s accomplishment, there\u2019s pride, and there\u2019s a whole world of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How a National Technical Committee Member Is Inspiring the Next Generation of Women in Skilled Trades When Ronda Frigault first stepped into the skilled trades 26 years ago, she didn\u2019t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":112926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[234],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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