HazTek Safety Professional Dhaima Service emigrated to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica in August 2014. She decided to make this move to be with her ex-husband who worked as a construction safety professional. Dhaima has a bachelor’s degree in education which she obtained in Jamaica and worked as a teacher in elementary in secondary schools for ten years. She chose to seek a job in the education field to make it easier to find an open position and worked as a University instructor in elementary and middle schools and provided students with direct academic support. She wanted to work in the construction safety industry though — and had five years of experience in Jamaica working in safety — but did not have any construction experience, making it hard to break into this field.

Dhaima’s drive to become a part of the construction industry came after constantly being belittled and told by her husband to get a “real job” — those words became her motivation. She studied and received her OSHA 30 certification, and through that received her first construction job in 2015. From there, Dhaima went back to school to get a bachelor’s degree in occupational safety and health administration and sought after more jobs in the construction industry. Since then, she has worked on several construction projects where she has not only helped companies to create safety policies and procedures but also helped to facilitate a culture of safety.

Dhaima furthered her studies and went on to receive her master’s in legal studies with emphasis in business law. It is her hope to complete her Certified Safety Professional (CSP) certification within the next few months.

“Today I am a proud single mother of three boys with a ‘real job’ and a graduate safety practitioner (GSP),” says Dhaima. “Thank you HazTek for seeing my worth and believing in me. For the women out there, who are thinking about joining the construction field, I would say to follow your heart and don’t listen to the naysayers. Though this is a male dominated field, just know that whatever they can do, we can do it better!”

Thank you to Dhaima for the drive, passion, and education for the safety industry that she brings to our organization.

In honor of Women in Construction Week, HazTek is featuring several of our safety professionals who work out in the field.

The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) created Women in Construction (WIC) Week to highlight women as a viable component of the construction industry and as an occasion for the thousands of NAWIC members across the country to help raise awareness of the growing role of women in the construction industry and the opportunities available to them.

HazTek LLC is a leading provider of comprehensive safety management services with a mission to enrich the health, safety, and well-being of our employees, our customers, and our communities.

Credit: NAWIC