International Day of Women and Girls in Science
February 11, 2021 – Today is International Day of Women and Girls in Science; here at Babcock Canada, we are celebrating it by recognizing some of our talented team members who work in STEM fields.
We sat down with Tabitha Spencer, Intermediate Project Planner and Lead: Materials, who is part of the team working on the Victoria In-Service Support Contract (VISSC), and Kurstyn Champion, an Operations Delivery Officer, who handles daily background tasks for the Manitoba Wildfire program, to discuss their journey with Babcock.
Tabitha Spencer
Q. How long have you been with Babcock?
TS: 2021 will be my fifth year of working for Babcock.
Q. Can you describe your role within Babcock?
TS: I work as a part of the Projecting Planning team with my focus being primarily on material planning.
Material Planning is a relatively new team within the Victoria In-Service Support Contract Project. At the basic level we input and plan out the material required in order to complete planned maintenance routine work, arising work scope, and engineering changes in project estimating production systems for the submarines. We then build upon this action by doing an in-depth review of the drawings/part lists, learning from experiences from past projects, along with production feedback and input concerning the material required to complete the work.
Material Planning also supports many other parts of the VISSC project such as Engineering, Production and Supply Chain in sourcing materials or alternative material options in order to mitigate delays to the schedule. We also preform data and risk analysis of materials planned for upcoming projects for VISSC in order to ensure a proactive approach by identifying any problematic materials, (obsolescence issues, long lead, unknown part numbers or suppliers) to Project, as well as the Customer that may present problems when in the execution phase of the Project.
Q. What is your academic and professional background?
TS: I have a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management, as well as a Certificate in Legal Assistant/Paralegal. I am also going for my Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) certification this year. Babcock is the first company I have worked for that has a strong STEM focus.
Q. What is your favourite part about your job?
TS: It is hard to pick just one; however, I thrive off of the challenges that come from working with materials for the submarines. There is something addicting about going down the ‘rabbit hole’ to sort out a material issue and the feeling of triumph upon discovery of a solution or alternative.
Q. On International Day of Women and Girls in Science, what is one piece of advice you would give to young women just starting out in their careers in science?
TS: Do not get discouraged; explore all possible avenues and advancements in this large career field.
Q. What do you see as some of the challenges facing women in science?
TS: I think that some of the challenges facing women in science is working in career fields that have been male dominated for years. Therefore, there are some barriers and misconceptions to break down and that can be a daunting task.
Q. What does International Day of Women and Girls in Science mean to you?
TS: It is a day to highlight the work of women within the sciences career field and encourage more girls to pursue the sciences.
Q: Can you share with us a memorable experience you had within your role at Babcock?
I am anticipating my most memorable experience to be the undocking of HMCS Corner Brook. I cannot wait to witness her return to the Royal Canadian Navy and share in such a memorable moment with all those who made it possible.
Kurstyn Champion
Q. How long have you been with Babcock?
KC: It will be two years in March, 2021.
Q. Can you describe your role within Babcock?
KC: My title is Operations delivery officer, I am involved in daily background tasks that help keep the operation of the Manitoba Wildfire program moving. The duties include arranging crew accommodations, setting up fuel for the aircraft, keeping the fleet vehicles maintained, or anything else that pops up while the engineers are deployed on base. Other duties include, gathering flight information and building reports, and helping out with the provinces air ambulance program by being on standby for assigning out of province patient transfers as well as providing weekly flight stats.
Q. What is your academic and professional background?
KC: I have worked in various environments, such as customer service, hospitality and tourism, and reception and while I was in my first year of university when I decided that I thought being a pilot would be a fun career to get into. In 2011, I started out at flight school and was hired at my first aviation related job cleaning aircraft and medevac dispatching. I finished my private pilot’s license and moved on to my second aviation related job working with the water bombers and air ambulance program for the province of Manitoba, which has now brought me to Babcock!
Q. What is your favourite part about your job?
KC: I feel fortunate to be involved in a program that makes such a big difference in the communities that it serves. Being part of a team that works very hard and is proud of what they do makes it enjoyable and rewarding to come to work every day.
Q. On International Day of Women and Girls in Science, what is one piece of advice you would give to young women just starting out in their careers in science?
KC: My advice would be to try everything!! You never know what you might fall into that would be the perfect fit. There are so many important jobs that go on in the background that people don’t know or even think about.
Q. What do you see as some of the challenges facing women in science?
KC: I think there can be some intimidation going into any trade, people need to remind themselves to get out of their comfort zone and that challenges are there to push your limits and make you stronger in the long run, so don’t give up!
Q. What does International Day of Women and Girls in Science mean to you?
KC: It’s a time for women and girls to come together and celebrate their accomplishments, share experience and knowledge, and become mentors to new faces.
Q. Can you share with us a memorable experience you had within your role at Babcock?
KC: The entire two years has been an experience. Being part of the startup team for the Winnipeg site, growing together with my team, and learning my new role has definitely been memorable and something I am proud of.
