OPG’s Keighly McKee proud to promote women in trades
Keighly McKee is no stranger to the millwright world.
Growing up, she admired her millwright father and aspired to follow in his footsteps with his steady encouragement.
McKee now works as a mechanical technician and millwright apprentice with OPG’s Niagara Operations.
Recently, she shared her knowledge on welding and torch cutting for a new Introduction to Millwrighting training program, part of OPG’s Indigenous Opportunities Network.
The new program, created by the Millwright Regional Council of Ontario, wrapped up in November with eight successful Indigenous graduates, who are now officially millwright apprentices. They have since been assigned to start work with two OPG vendors, CANATOM and E.S. Fox.
Highly trained millwrights install, maintain, diagnose and repair various industrial and mechanical equipment – from pumps and conveyors to the steam turbines that produce electricity at OPG’s nuclear stations. It is a trade currently in high demand, particularly with the ongoing Darlington Refurbishment project and other refurbishment projects underway around the energy industry.
“We’re trying to make women feel more comfortable and know other women are part of trades and it’s not something odd and anyone can do it.”Keighly McKee, mechanical technician and millwright apprentice
“This was a great opportunity. It’s definitely something out of my comfort zone, but i think it went well,” said McKee, who also emphasized safety basics as part of her instruction. “It’s trying to make OPG a more diverse place, and the trades a more diverse place, so I think that’s a really good thing.”
As a woman, McKee also recognizes the value in expanding representation in male-dominated trades. She is currently the chairperson for the Niagara Region Sisters in the Brotherhood, which supports female construction professionals in training, leadership skills and mentorship.
“We’re trying to make women feel more comfortable and know other women are part of trades and it’s not something odd and anyone can do it.”
A big part of McKee’s own path to the trades was her dad’s own experiences of working with women in the field. He would come home and tell stories about going to work, and he would always mention if he worked with a woman, she said.
“It wasn’t something out of the ordinary for me growing up,” she said. “So I want other women to have a similar opportunity, where it’s the first time they’re introduced into the trades and meeting a woman is not out of the ordinary.”
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