Electrician Taylor Aeichele poses at a substation. She got her start after applying to our Youth Hires program – and recalls she was in the middle of a soccer game when she was told she had been accepted.
How three B.C. women found their way to a career at BC Hydro
Victoria Gillis was working at a Starbucks when a regular encouraged her to look into a career at BC Hydro.
Cheyenne Hartley worked as a carpenter before embarking on a career with us as an electrician in Prince George.
Taylor Aeichele knew as a teenager that she would work with her hands, first helping her dad and brother around the home. After working assorted jobs out of high school – at one time building chairlifts – she joined our team as a red seal electrician.
On the cusp of International Women's Day 2026, we introduce you to three women who have discovered that careers in the trades are a rewarding fit for their talents and interests.
"There's never a day that goes by that I think I'm not strong enough for this job, because I am," says Aeichele, who as an electrician works on everything from our transformers and breakers to batteries. "You can think with your brain instead of your brawn. If you're not 5-foot-10, it's not a problem: there's always a ladder. The doors are wide open for any young female who wants to get into the trades."
We offer apprenticeship opportunities in eight skill areas: electrician, cable splicer, meter technician, power line technician, mechanic, vehicle tradesperson, winder, and interchange plant operator. Apprentices earn 75% of the full trade rate while they learn.
Other training opportunities include pre-apprenticeship power line technician (PLT), engineers-in-training, technologist trainee, and co-op learning.
Victoria Gillis moves electrical equipment with a forklift as part of her job as storekeeper in North Vancouver.
Victoria Gillis, field storekeeper, North Vancouver
One day you're selling dog food and accessories. Then you work at Starbucks as a supervisor. Then a man walks into a coffee bar…
"He was one of my regular customers, and he says to me 'You're so much better than this – you're so detail oriented, and you need to work at BC Hydro. I didn't even realize that was an option for me at the time. BC Hydro was never even on my radar, because it was just some big Crown corporation."
Gillis quickly learned that being in a trade at BC Hydro wasn't all about being a power line technician. She preferred not to get stuck outside all day in the elements, and the thought of warehouse work was much more appealing. It turned out her skills as an organizer allowed her to loosely follow the path of her dad, brother, and granddad, all electricians.
She got certified training in fall arrest, forklift operation, various other machine certifications, and our in-house Class 3 commercial driver's license certification. She now runs a one-person store, overseeing inventory and helping crews load electrical equipment at the store or delivering it to various worksites in the community.
"I basically deal with the power distribution side of things," she explains. "Primarily, we get the wire that goes from one power pole to the other, or that goes underground from one green transformer box to the next, plus all the bits and bobs in between."
"When I first started, the crew were patient with me, answered all my questions, and I really appreciate working with them."
What does she like most about her job? Steady hours, the ability to work overtime, and control – through meticulous tracking of inventory – of supplies in the store. She says the crew she works with is easygoing and respects her because she makes sure they know exactly where to find everything.
"Everyone at BC Hydro has been so helpful and just easy to talk to," she says. "When I started, we were actually known as the "female store", at least for the Lower Mainland, because there was me, plus two women working as power line technicians out of here. That was the most women at any single location."
Raised in Nakusp, Taylor Aeichele spent three years helping build chairlift across Canada before discovering a career as an electrician with BC Hydro.
Taylor Aeichele, electrician, Williams Lake
Describing herself as a "tomboy" who once gifted her dad a T-shirt that read "Thank you for raising me to be a man even though I'm your daughter", Aeichele grew up working with her dad around the home, maintaining her own 4-wheeled ATV and snowmobiles, skiing, and playing sports.
For some reason, she decided in Grade 12 that she wanted to be a pharmacist. The idea didn't last.
"My brother offered to gift me his tools because he just got a job with BC Hydro as an apprentice electrician," she says. "So I jumped into the pre-apprentice program at Thompson Rivers University, and fell in love with the hands-on aspect and the math. An avid skier since I was three, I spent three years maintaining and building chairlifts across Canada – that was the driver for me falling in love with this career path."
Her parents encouraged her to give BC Hydro a shot, in part because of the attractive pension plan and other benefits. She got into our Youth Hires program with the support of a BC Hydro power line technician. She loves that as an electrician, she now spends about 80% or her time outside or behind the wheel of a truck, working with her crew to repair parts of the electrical system around Williams Lake.
She has joined BC Hydro's Women in the Field Training organization and attends the annual conference where she shares ideas around how to handle some of the day-to-day barriers women might face in the trades.
"Sometimes when I walk into a room, it does feel like I have to really try to hold firm to my opinions, because I can’t assume that people respect my knowledge," she says. "With a solid few years under my belt, I mostly know what I'm talking about."
"My advice is to place yourself around people who lift your confidence. But stay humble, ask for respect, and stay true to your morals. Some days can be hard, no matter what career path you choose, so finding a good group of people to support you is key."
Electrician Cheyenne Hartley (left) and fellow employees Royce Stark, an area scheduler, and Tina Jeffrey, a stations field manager, take a break from helping paint a rainbow crosswalk in front of a school at Hudson’s Hope in 2023.
Cheyenne Hartley, area planner/scheduler, Prince George
Among the keys to thriving as a woman working in male-dominated trades are patience and persistence. "Take the time to explore your options, and when you face adversity, hang in there," says Cheyenne Hartley.
"Be open to the possibility that you don't find your fit right away," says Hartley, who started out as a carpentry apprentice outside of BC Hydro before being hired as an apprentice electrician. After working with us as a journeyperson electrician, she has been a planner and scheduler in Prince George since 2022. "There are a lot of different trades, and there's a lot of variation in each trade – not surprisingly, there's not a lot of overlap between wood and electricity."
Carpentry is now a hobby for Hartley – " I was a wood butcher, now I'm a sparky," she says with a laugh. The Hixon, B.C native has discovered that rather than doing maintenance in the field, she's found her place as a planner/scheduler – monitoring outages, negotiating with customers, ordering materials, etc. – so that crews are equipped to safely get the job done.
And it hasn't been easy. Hartley recalls a particularly low moment during her apprenticeship that tested her mettle.
"I had a pretty dramatic breakdown in the parking lot when my mom was dropping me off one morning," she recalls. "I was like, 'I can't do this. I'll never be good at this, and I should drop out. My mom told me I wasn't allowed to quit."
Despite being six feet tall, Hartley says she has at times lacked confidence and working alongside men presents various challenges but despite this, she doesn't hesitate to recommend a trades career to women.
