Created through a four-year partnership with Irving Shipbuilding Inc., MID will run from 2026–2029 and engage approximately 225 students through Techsploration’s core program and reach thousands more through marine-focused conferences, presentations and events, connecting youth directly with role models.
For more than 25 years, Techsploration has helped youth discover careers in science, engineering, technology and the skilled trades, fields in which women remain significantly underrepresented. Their mentor-led programming moves career exploration beyond the classroom by connecting students with women and gender-diverse professionals, hands-on learning experiences and real workplaces.
Irving Shipbuilding’s support helps introduce participants to the remarkable range of people and skills involved in building and sustaining Canada’s marine sector. Welding, metal fabrication, electrical work, engineering, technology, supply chain operations and many other career pathways all contribute to this complex and evolving industry.
These experiences do more than provide students with information about potential careers. They help make unfamiliar possibilities feel real and attainable.
When a young person meets someone working in a field they had never considered, asks questions about that person’s career journey or tries a new skill in a supportive environment, their understanding of what is possible can begin to change. They can see that technical spaces are places where they belong, and that there is more than one pathway to a rewarding career.
“As a Techsploration student in 2012, I had role models who were tradeswomen with Irving Shipbuilding who ignited the spark in me to pursue a career in the skilled trades,” says Victoria Henneberry. “I am so proud to be part of the Irving Shipbuilding team and to be giving back to Techsploration by mentoring a new class of young women.”
Henneberry is a Techsploration alumna from Shelburne High School (2012) and is currently a pipefitter apprentice at Irving.
The partnership also reflects a shared commitment to developing a strong, skilled and increasingly diverse workforce. Creating lasting change requires early exposure, practical experiences and visible role models who can help young people connect their interests and abilities with real opportunities.
Together, Techsploration and Irving Shipbuilding are helping students look beyond traditional expectations, explore the marine industry with curiosity and confidence, and imagine themselves contributing to its future.
To learn more about Techsploration and their programs, visit www.techsploration.ca
