November 13, 2024
Jacoba Kortlever is a welding apprentice at Victoria Shipyards known for her strong work ethic and commitment to mastering new skills. We sat down with her to learn more about her role and what inspired her to pick up a welding torch.
Tell me about your educational background. What drew you to pursue welding?
I had taken some metalworking and shop classes in high school, and it was something I wanted to learn more about. Fast forward a few years after graduation and Covid hit. I was working in the service industry at the time and like many others, got laid off. I had all this free time and thought, I might as well make use of it, so I signed up for a few courses.
The welding program at VIU was the first to reach out to me and offer me a seat, so I took the opportunity and ended up really liking it. Losing my job was challenging, but I view it as a blessing in disguise in a sense because it gave me time to sit down and think about my future. After completing my foundations course, I started my apprenticeship with Seaspan, and I’ve been working at Victoria Shipyards for the past two and a half years.
So now that you’ve finished your welding foundations program and are well into your apprenticeship, what does a typical day look like for you?
It usually starts with a meeting where we get together and discuss safety and the projects we need to focus on for the week. Some days I’m working with a team of steel fitters, and others I’m working solo. Recently I’ve been working a lot on the deck inserts, which is mostly independent work. It’s good because it gives me time to hunker down, get the work done, and improve my skill set.
Do you also have the opportunity to work with mentors?
The work I do is varied and project dependent. If there is a lot of commercial work, it’s really all-hands-on deck. My chargehands are always great about setting aside time for learning, whether they’re teaching me themselves or pairing me up with a journeyperson with more experience who can teach me something new, like welding pipe, which you don’t normally really get to learn as an apprentice.
I’ve really jumped around the yard too, which is great. When I first started, I was in the MLB shop which was really great for me because I was working with all of the pipe welders and learning about TIG, copper, nickel and working with all the specialty alloys. Now I am doing a lot more work onboard vessels, mainly navy ships but also cruise ships like the Carnival Radiance that was docked recently.
Do you prefer to work with a team, or on your own?
I would say it’s 50-50. I get along well with everyone, so I’d say if I’ve had enough caffeine, I like working with others – especially the steel fitters. Other days, it’s nice to put my hood down and focus and kind of get the job done. I’d say that one of my favourite things about the job is that every day is different.
A few people have mentioned your name, why do you think it is that people have noticed your work ethic?
They say you’re always your own worst self-critic, but I feel that I kind of use that to my advantage and use that to motivate myself and to better my career. I’ve never turned down overtime. I’ve always had that drive and mindset to want to be working and bettering myself.
Have you always been on night shifts?
I actually requested to be put on night shifts because I’d heard that because of the smaller number of people there’s more room for one-on-one time with chargehands and mentors.
It is an adjustment, but I don’t regret it. There’s a smaller group on the night shift so it’s like one big family and you have the opportunity to build a closer connection to the people you are working with every day.
Do you see yourself staying in welding when you are done with your apprenticeship? How much longer do you have left to go?
I’m currently in my third year of my apprenticeship, and it’s technically a four-year program between schooling and your work hours. There is also an option to extend your apprenticeship and do specialty courses, which I’m pretty interested in pursuing. It’s a really great job for Vancouver Island and there’s a lot of job stability and continuous learning which I really appreciate. I could definitely see myself continuing in welding or something closely related in the future.
Finally, what is one piece of advice that you would give to other young women that are interested in going into this industry?
The advice I got when I was first starting out was to just not listen to anyone who is trying to put you down or discourage you. You have to trust yourself and you know, follow your gut feeling and not let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.
My experience as a young woman in the industry was that I had people telling me that I wouldn’t be able to do it. I was stubborn though, and my response to that was, ‘you know what? I can.’ You just have to want to do it and be willing to put in the time, work, and dedication knowing it will all be worth it.