March 12, 2025
Ferris State hosting Jill of All Trades event to give high school girls the opportunity to explore rewarding careers in professional trades, STEM fields
Ferris State University is providing high school girls an opportunity to explore rewarding careers and participate in hands-on workshops to learn about programs in College of Engineering Technology through Jill of All Trades, an international effort offered for the first time in Michigan.
Visiting students can engage industry partners in a career fair-like setting on Thursday, March 20 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the David L. Eisler Center and at program labs on the Big Rapids campus.
The workshops designed for the high school students will be led by Ferris State students in the programs and supervised by the college’s faculty members.
“Increasing the number of female and minority students is a priority of the College of Engineering Technology, and Jill of All Trades is an excellent event for us to host on campus to begin bridging that gap,” said Mackenzie Kidder, the college’s recruiting and engagement officer. ““The overall goal of the event is to showcase the college and its programs, and to help address skilled workforce needs of the future,”
Jill of All Trades is an international program focused on expanding awareness of the opportunities for women in rewarding professional trades careers. The organization was founded by Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in Ontario in 2014 and has worked with colleges and universities across Canada and the United States.
Increasing the number of women in the skilled trades and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields has been a goal on both sides of the border.
The U.S. Department of Commerce in 2022 launched the Million Women in Construction initiative, a nationwide call to action for the construction industry – construction contractors, trade unions, and training institutions – to commit to bold steps to ensure a robust and diverse workforce.
The department said it is necessary to recruit, train, hire, and retain thousands of new and non-traditional workers to be the next generation of skilled laborers to build the nation’s infrastructure and supply chains.
A 2023 report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology revealed that women account for just 24 percent of careers in STEM fields.
Among the college’s featured programs at Jill of All Trades are: Automotive Engineering Technology, Heavy Equipment Service Engineering Technology, Manufacturing Engineering Technology, Plastics Engineering Technology, Surveying Engineering and Welding Engineering Technology.
Ferris State’s College of Engineering Technology prepares the next generation of builders, creators, designers, and innovators to accelerate their careers and make their mark on our world.
The CET consists of four industry expert-led academic schools: Automotive and Heavy Equipment, Built Environment, Engineering and Computing Technology, and Design and Manufacturing.