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Ep. 131: Next Generation of the Construction Workforce is Here
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Advocating for Everybody in Construction with Alexandra Smith
On today’s episode of CONEXPO, Taylor is joined by Alexandra Smith, aka Al the Little Operator, who runs equipment, installs septic systems, and shares Taylor’s love of wastewater treatment. Alexandra kicks off the episode by discussing what her job involves as a newly self-employed worker, her ambitions to learn septic design, and her background growing up in the construction industry. She and Taylor also get into some of the specifics of septic systems and the importance of standing your ground and maintaining your integrity rather than taking shortcuts just to maximize profit.
Next, Taylor asks Alexandra where she sees herself going in the industry, and she explains that she has a decision to make in the future about returning and taking over the family business. However, she says that her main priority is to stay in the field without getting sucked into the six-days-a-week, twelve-hours-a-day pressure that many industry workers fall prey to. She also wants to use her social media presence to encourage healthier lifestyles and a return to focusing on what’s important in life, inside and outside the job. Alexandra then discusses what it’s like for women in construction, how she tries to let girls know there’s space for normal girls in the industry, and how she avoids scrutiny as a woman by keeping her content focused on her work. She also shares some of the equipment she loves to work with (and some she doesn’t!) and how a shared love of equipment is a huge part of her relationship with her dad. And finally, Alexandra tells us what she’ll be speaking about at CONEXPO before closing the episode by emphasizing that while it’s important for her to advocate for women in the industry, she also wants to make life better for everybody in construction by encouraging new ways of conducting and organizing business, so people have more freedom.
The Finer Details of This Episode:
- Alexandra’s background
- The specifics of septics
- Dealing with difficult homeowners
- Ensuring perfection and maintaining integrity
- Setting up for a better future
- Being a woman in construction and on social media
- Alexandra’s favorite equipment
- What Alexandra will be speaking about at CONEXPO
- Advocating for everybody in the industry
Quotes:
“I like the process. I like knowing that this is what I’ve got to do, in and out. I enjoy the labor and the machine work combination.”
“What happened to doing work because it makes you happy and being okay with making plenty but not overkilling?”
“I’m not the type of person where I’m a tomboy, but I’m not really girly, either. I’m kind of all these things, and I’m trying to balance them into one person and to make sure that I can put out a good example and an accurate representation of who I am. And just let girls know, they can just be a normal girl in the construction industry.”
“I couldn’t imagine my life not running equipment and not working with my dad. It’s great, I’m really lucky.”
“We definitely got to try some new ways of conducting business and expectations for workers and try to find ways that maybe we can organize business, so people have more freedom, and it still runs effectively, if that makes sense.”
Links:
Al The Little Operator on Instagram
To learn more about the 2023 CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show and to register, go to: https://www.conexpoconagg.com/show-experience
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