Pam Brodbin was looking for a job with career prospects when she came across the parts technician field.

There were opportunities in the parts technician trade in Vermilion, near the farm she grew up on. After researching the trade, she decided it might just be the career she'd been looking for and enrolled at Lakeland College.

“It appealed to me because it's very much a customer service-based trade,” Brodbin explains. “In agriculture, a lot of the time people fix their own equipment, so they'll come into the shop and describe whatever they are trying to maintain or improve. It's my job to find what they need and get them the right quantity for the right price.”

Brodbin credits the support of Lakeland's instructors for helping her excel in her training.

“Even though I grew up on a farm, there was so much I didn't know when I started my training at Lakeland,” she says. “The instructors were so supportive. I really got a lot out of it, especially that first year, because it gave me that foundational level of knowledge that is so crucial to this trade. I refer back to it, even today.”

Brodbin began working at a summer position as a second year apprentice at Webb's Machinery in 2013.

“Working for Webbs was always something I wanted because of the positive family relationships we have had for so many years,” Brodbin says, noting her grandmother had been friends with George and Phylis Webb and her family have always had a good customer relationship with store. “After that summer job, I just kept coming back here. They've been so good to work with as I've had my family or gone to do my training. They're so supportive here.”

She completed her apprenticeship training at Lakeland in November 2019 and continues to work as a parts technician for Webb's.

As a woman in trades, Brodbin is grateful for her training at Lakeland for giving herself the knowledge and confidence to succeed in the trade.

“For women in trades, we need to work hard and pay attention to the details. We may feel like we need to prove ourselves, so we have to bring our best effort. My experience at Lakeland really helped with that. The instructors were so helpful and invested in their students. They're so committed to our success.”

Brodbin was one of five female parts technician apprentices to graduate in November from the program.