Helping Indigenous people improve skills and find employment (Rosanna's Story)

I am a mother, a single mother of two daughters, and what led me to the pre-apprenticeship carpentry program was an organization for Aboriginal people in Thunder Bay, the AETS, and they had a posting on Facebook.
So, this opportunity came, I applied for it and I got into the program. My name is Rosanna Kawtiash, I’m originally from Gull Bay First Nation and I was born and raised in Thunder Bay. I really, I’m a person who when you see…when I want something done I would do it myself just because there’s, like, certain expectations I have, and I guess just in past experiences when I ask someone to do something they’re just not up to my standards.
So, I was really proud to be in this program and especially being an Aboriginal woman as well. I felt powerful actually being in this program. When I was growing up, I was a shy student, shy person and I have four brothers, so being I guess in this field of a bunch of men I just felt comfortable being here and showing other women that yes, they can do it, just get in there.
I watched Rosie grow and develop. She was a shy lady. But two or three weeks in she came out of her shell and she started being a natural leader, and as the program went on, she was one of the team leaders in a shed build.
Then from there I watched her develop her skills as a supervisor. Everything was laid out on a table, mathematics were done correctly, layout was done correctly and then she would implement all the stuff she did on paper to her group and all of a sudden, a shed was up, popped up, level, square, plumb. Very good work.
Being that single parent, I want to show my daughters that they could do anything-that this just isn’t mainly a man’s field, that women can do it too, so definitely wanted to be that strong figure for them and show them that they can do anything.