Powering up a career in power engineering

Kateryna Svidrak is on her way to a career in power engineer, and she credits Lakeland College’s process and power engineering (PPE) program and Women Building Futures (WBF) for helping her get there.

Svidrak moved to Lloydminster from her home in Ukraine in 2022. She finished her final year of high school in Canada and then wasn’t sure what to do next. When she heard that Lakeland offered a power engineering program, she knew that was a career she wanted to explore.

Applying to the program took some time as Svidrak worked to get her documents in order and while she did, she connected with WBF to get a jumpstart on her power engineering studies.

“It took me some time to have my documents ready to apply to Lakeland, but Women Building Futures helped me the whole time. It was really nice,” Svidrak explains. “I didn’t know what to expect in the program and WBF gave me an overview of what to expect and taught me a lot about safety.”

WBF’s career accelerator program gives potential female power engineering students instruction and training to help prepare them to study power engineering. It’s an opportunity to brush up on their skills, earn their safety tickets, and build a community before entering Lakeland’s program. WBF also reserves practicum placements for students through Pembina and Inter Pipeline.

Now that she is in her second year of the PPE program, Svidrak is enjoying her time at Lakeland, both inside and outside of the classroom.

“I really like Lakeland because it’s a small community and the teachers are amazing,” she says. “You can ask them questions and they always have time for you.” She adds that she asks a lot of questions, and is particularly glad for the instructors’ patience.

The PPE program also includes practicum opportunities, and Svidrak has spent both of her practicums working with Pembina. Svidrak’s practicum experiences proved to her that the energy industry was where she wanted to make a career.

“I was able to go out into the field and see how it works,” she says. “I definitely gained more experience with them.”

Additionally, she is part of the student council, a student ambassador, and runs the energy department’s Instagram account.

“The energy program is phenomenal,” Svidrak says. “And I really like Lakeland. It’s a small campus, but there’s so much to do here.”