BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — An annual conference aimed at giving local young women in high school the opportunity to learn about careers in construction was held in Dorchester on Wednesday.

Some 450 technical school students from across the state attended the 'Massachusetts Girls In Trades (MA GIT) Career Fair.'

MA GIT has sponsored the fair for the past nine years.

The fair was an opportunity to introduce the students to apprenticeship programs and meet with tradeswomen to talk about their experiences.

"There's strength in numbers, and events like today's conference are proof that you're not alone in your ambition," Massachusetts Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler while addressing the students in attendance.

Dozens of tradeswomen repping dozens of trades also answered questions and shared their stories.

Laborer Jenaya said she went from being a desperate single mom on welfare to buying at home at 25.

"On the jobs around me, there's so many more women. I could probably count on my hand how many people I knew in my local, but now it's growing and growing. It's amazing," Jenaya said.

Alex Colonna, a painter and one of the fair's organizers, said the conference was a great opportunity for the students to learn from people in the trades industry about a career path they may never have considered.

"They have the opportunity to go around to all of the tables, ask questions, interact with everybody," she said.

She added that she wishes someone had told her about all of the career opportunities in this industry while she was in college.

Helen Pojoy was one of the presenters at the fair.

She said it wasn't all that long ago she was one of the students.

"Only a couple of weeks after graduation I was already working," she said.

She's now gainfully employed as a plumber.

"I'm so grateful that I now get to be one of those people giving advice to other girls who want to get in," Helen said.

WBZ NewsRadio's Madison Rogers (@MadisonWBZ) reports.