After a few years working retail in Sault Ste. Marie, Jessica Love realized it was time for a new career path.
Floundering in a minimum-wage cycle that promised little career advancement or personal development, Love decided — “on a whim,” as she puts it — to give the trades a try.
Despite not having any experience with automobiles, she enrolled at Sault College, taking their Women in the Auto Industry pre-trades program — one of the college’s offerings that focuses on areas like women in trades, Indigenous participation, mechanical, automotive, or exploratory pathways.
“I needed a life change, and a career change,” Love told Northern Ontario Business. “And I said, ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’ So I went for it. Jumped right in.”
The decision, as she says, was one of the best she’s ever made. And her two boys — Aiden, 17, and Xavier, 11 — were thrilled their mom was going to be working around cars, something they both had an interest in.
“[Cars] are what they love, of course, and they were both excited that their mom was going to be working around them,” Love said. “My mom and siblings were super supportive as well.”
Not the most traditional career move for a mom of two, but this field isn’t just about wrenches and oil changes, she said.
“There is so much involved in this industry,” Love said. “When I joined the college, I literally thought there were only mechanics and a salesman in the industry.
“I was very wrong.”
Love said she immediately felt welcomed in the classroom, finding a bit of a family in the dozen or so other women enrolled.
“I think we were all nervous, and our teachers — who were all male — were really kind and taught us to make sure we have a backbone,” she said, alluding to a perception that workplaces in the trades may sometimes be a little bit rough around the edges, especially when it comes to welcoming women into the fold.
During the compressed course, the instructors taught the class “a little bit about everything,” she said. She also noticed that — at least in her experience — there’s a changing atmosphere around women in the trades.
“I think a lot more people have become a little bit more open-minded compared to what it used to be like,” she said. “There's a growing awareness of diversity in the trades, and it's becoming more approachable for a lot more people.”
Following the in-class portion of the program, Love made her way to Lakeway Truck Centre, where she got a “hands-on feel” for the operation, including making work orders, placing orders for parts and equipment. Even learning her way around the scrap yard.
Then, barely a year after graduating from Sault College and on the recommendation of Sault College staff, Love found herself being interviewed by Kerry McMillan, managing partner of Prouse Motors in the Soo.
Her first job interview in a few years, and with quite a bit riding on it, she admits to being a bit nervous seated in front of potential employers.
“Kerry asked, ‘What exactly do you want to do in the industry?’” Love said. “And I told him, ‘I just love everything about it, so far, and I want to work here.’”
She also told McMillan her story, how she “jumped in with both feet” and has been enjoying every minute of it since.
McMillan hired her, almost on the spot.
“My very first position at Prouse was actually as a receptionist, which was really neat, because I got to see the work orders, I got to have one-on-one with customers and everything,” Love said.
Her skills and enthusiasm were apparent to her new employers, and she quickly moved up the ranks into her current role: internal service advisor.
“I make the work orders for the salesman to have their car safetied, make sure that if the car needs anything, that the work gets done,” she said.
That also includes coordinating a vehicle’s pre-delivery inspection (PDI) and motor vehicle inspection (MVI). And also ensuring that any last detail — tinting, custom windows — is completed before the cars roll off the lot.
“I jumped in, not knowing if I was going to succeed or fail,” she said. “I've already learned a lot and grown so much.”
She said that Prouse has become almost like a second family to her since she walked through the front doors.
“I think at some other places they may have thought, ‘She's not going to last long,’” Love said. “You know, it’s easy to judge in the trades, especially for women.
"But it was actually quite the opposite when I got to Prouse. They were so welcoming, and they're much more about lifting you up than tearing you down. It’s perfect, because you want to have your coworkers treat you as a team member.”
At the end of the day, she’s recommending her approach — despite the doubts, “jump right in with both feet” — to just about anyone dissatisfied with their own careers.
“A lot of times we tend to stay within our boundaries and get scared to try new things,” she said. “And I'm very grateful that I did, and it gave me new opportunities.”
But the growth and the career opportunities aren’t stopping just yet. Love said she’s hoping one day to graduate to a sales position at Prouse Motors.
“The commissions would be nice,” she laughed, “but I just think it would be a really great opportunity to get that feel of the industry, too. And also to provide a family, or even just an individual, with their dream vehicle.”
As for advice to other women contemplating a shift in careers, Love reminds them that life is short.
“If I hadn't done it, I still would have been holding myself back,” she said. “I feel like I wouldn't have reached my full potential because I would have been guessing the What Ifs?”
