Many of us know the excitement and fulfillment of finally realizing a long-term goal, and for one woman working as an Electrician Apprentice here in Hampton Roads that is about to be a reality. Rachael Cornelison has been pursuing her Journeyman certification in an apprenticeship program for almost five years now. Through a combination of classroom instruction and on-the-job training she has worked her way closer to her goal. and now her Journeyman’s Card is almost within her reach.
Rachael came into the Electrician’s Apprenticeship program with a military background. During her first six years in the Air Force she was an aircraft weapons loader where she was responsible for loading, unloading and maintenance of conventional as well as nuclear munitions. She says it was a physical job with few women working beside her. She transferred for her last three years to working in intelligence and says she “went from a job that was very hands on to [working in] a vault.” She quickly realized, “This isn’t what I want to do.” Rachael said she enjoyed working with her hands and when she left the Air Force, she was looking for something similar.
She found the website of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 1340 and applied online. Rachael says she was eager once she had decided to take this path, calling to check on her status at least every other day. She saw the IBEW as offering her a chance to learn a new trade, to work with her hands and build a career that offered steady work with good benefits. Rachael spent eight months in a pre-apprenticeship program—known today as the CW/CE (Construction Wireman/Construction Electrician)—where she started her on-the-job training before being accepted into the apprenticeship program. “Its hard work but it’s worth it,” she explained. “It is a construction job.” The work is physical but there are plenty of mental challenges, and there is always something new to learn.
Rachael says her experience so far in the union has been mostly positive, “The IBEW has a good support system.” She has even taken the opportunity to be part of that support system by serving as the head of the Women’s Committee in the Local 1340, and she encourages other women to participate. The Women’s Committee is responsible for making sure that issues that may affect women more directly do not get overlooked, and each local branch has their own committee. With more women coming into the union there is an opportunity to take advantage of diversity. Where some may see an organization like the Women’s Committee as separating men and women, Rachael says it best, “It’s not a separation; it’s an addition.” While the number of women in the IBEW is rising, nationwide they still only make up six percent of the union, so the efforts of Rachael and women like her are important to ensure that everyone is supported.
May of 2021 will mark Rachael’s fifth year as an apprentice and she will be eligible to receive her certification as a Journeyman Wireman. It has taken longer than earning a Bachelor’s degree, but Rachael has also been earning a wage the entire time she has been learning her trade and she will officially start her career without any student debt. And while she feels that her experience in the military helped her along the way, Rachael says she has seen people who come straight from high school do well in the program. Proving success is about the hard work you put into an apprenticeship and not who you are when you begin.
If you’d like to learn more about how to get started in a trade career, read about local training partners and apprenticeship programs on our Resources page.
Rachael Cornelison Works Like A Girl. You can too. For more info, click here.