Today we are excited to announce that we are formally nominating Laing's own Angela Phillips to Beacon Building Products, Female Roofing Professional of the Year Award. While there are so many incredible candidates that will be nominated for this award, we wanted to recognize Angela for all she has accomplished and contributed to the Roofing industry in Canada. Thank you Angela! Win or lose, we are proud to have you on our team! 

More about Angela... 
​
When we think about what it means to be a woman in the trades, there are few stories that truly inspire the way that Angela Phillips does. Angela is a trailblazer for not only women—but women of color who seek to break barriers in their own careers.
 
In 2007 Angela immigrated to Canada from a small town in Mexico (San Gabriel) to work on a farm in Southern Alberta. Like most immigrants to Canada searching for a better life – Angela experienced a major culture shock. With little English-speaking ability and limited training and skills, you would expect that most people in that situation would fight to just keep the status quo. But by nature, Angela could not accept being content with just surviving. She worked hard and managed to get an entry level job working with a roofing company. Having learned construction from her father at a young age, she knew the basics enough to keep up. During that time Angela was relentless in learning everything she could and working as hard as she could to move up.
 
Facing gender discrimination on worksites and being constantly undermined and second-guessed, Angela kept telling herself “I can. I got this. I am enough.”. More than anything though, Angela was constantly battling her own uncertainty – for years she was ashamed of her career because in Mexico was so unheard of to be a woman in the trades. She thought her family wouldn’t support what she was doing—especially considering the fact that she was a veterinarian in Mexico before coming to Canada. Despite these daily adversities and pressures, Angela did not give up and is clearing a path for many to follow.
 
Fast-forward to now and Angela is a certified Red-Seal Journeyman Roofer and a foremost expert on single-ply roofing installation. She is currently pursuing her Blue-Seal certification in Roofing and hopes to attain her Gold-Seal after that. Her goal is to promote green roofing solutions and help push the industry towards that. To add to her impressive resume, Angela has managed to also be a loving mom of two young children while also serving as a Senior Roofing Production Foreman for Laing Roofing in Kelowna, BC, Canada.
 
When asked about what advice she would offer to young women hoping to make a career in the trades, she said “Don’t stop learning. Don't wait to initiate the apprenticeship; time moves fast when you are working towards something. A Red seal is only one step and the compensation you earn as a journeyman will open new doors for you.”