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Just two per cent of tradies working in onsite construction roles are female but that’s a number the National Association of Women in Construction wants to see increase to 25 per cent by 2025.
Here, meet three female apprentices working in trades who share their experiences in the hope of empowering other women looking to join the industry. They’re all winners of the Bunnings Women in
Apprenticeships Awards 2024, which recognise women in trades who are excelling.
Moving from Pakistan to Australia meant Faiza could finally achieve her dreams of starting a trade and working the tools – she loves working with her hands so much she didn’t even mind which trade she ended up doing.
It’s almost taboo for women to be tradies in Pakistan. The typical thinking of parents is that girls should do careers in medicine or engineering. They think girls are safe in these fields – no-one thinks outside the box. I did an undergraduate degree in computer sciences, but my passion was always working with tools.
It was unbelievable when I came to Australia and could start an apprenticeship. I was very happy, and am still very happy that I’m doing it. On the first day of my pre-apprenticeship, I was out there working with the men. We were given a task [using] tools, and from day one I just loved it.
More than being an electrician, I just love being a tradie. I think every trade is good – I also wanted to be a carpenter and a painter. I just want to do hands-on work. When I came here, I went to Bunnings with my husband and there were tools everywhere. I loved walking along the aisles and looking at the tools.
I think the best thing about being an electrician is that I’m learning new things every day. There’s not a single day that I can say I haven't learnt anything – one day we’re doing wiring and then another day we’re doing cable pulling – it’s different every day.
My confidence grows every day as an electrician. When I started, I thought I’ll do my first year but because I’m from a different background, I won’t be able to pursue the apprenticeship further. But now I think I can do it – I’m feeling better and more confident. It’s the best decision of my life.
My best piece of advice for other apprentices is to be dedicated to your work. There will be hard days and good days but be dedicated, be passionate. I’m always passionate about my work – every day when I start working with tools it increases my passion.
The tool I use most is the. I really love them. They are sturdy with a good grip, and they are very long-lasting. I use them most days. Kincrome spanner set
Meet all the winners of the Bunnings Trade Women in Apprenticeships Awards 2024
Parris knew she was never destined for a desk job – she wanted to work outdoors and from her first day onsite, she knew landscaping was her calling.
Landscaping is perfect for me because I’ve always been an outside, hands-on person. I thought about carpentry and then decided on landscaping because it’s a bit of everything. As well as the landscaping, there’s carpentry with the decking and formwork, there's paving and tiling, there’s a little bit of electrical work.
To do my apprenticeship, I had to leave my family back home. I left my family, my dogs, all my mates, and moved three and a half hours to Adelaide. Leaving your mates and your family behind is obviously not the easiest thing but I knew it was going to get better and it did.
I love landscaping because no day is the same. I find it really satisfying when we get to the planting stage because that’s pretty much the last stage of the job and you get to see – from where you started to where you’re nearly finished – the transformation.
I’d suggest women thinking about a trade should give it a go. See if you can get some work experience, but the biggest thing is just showing your employer that you’re eager to learn and keen.
Being an apprentice has taught me that if I don’t get something right the first time, I have to keep asking questions until I get it right. It’s hard, sometimes – you think to yourself, ‘Why don’t I know this?’ but you're still learning so it’s okay not to know how things are done.
The best advice I’ve been given as an apprentice is that being a woman doesn’t determine your ability. Just because you're a female, it doesn’t mean you can’t do what the boys do.
Being a landscaper is a really satisfying and rewarding job. It’s definitely going to be my career for as long as I can do it.
The handiest tool I have is the Lufkin tape measure. It’s hard to narrow it down to one tool but this is the thing I use most frequently. Without it I wouldn’t be able to measure plans, make out the site, cut pavers… the list goes on.
Jessica did it a little tougher than most plumbing apprentices – she found out she was pregnant not long into her apprenticeship. Now, she pushes herself to be the best plumber she can be to set a positive example for her daughter, Della, 2.
I started my apprenticeship when I was 23. I chose plumbing because I was a bit stuck with what I wanted to do. I’d done a chef apprenticeship, but I couldn’t really find what I wanted. Trades popped into my head and plumbing was the one I wanted to go with. I love problem-solving and I really love water.
It was a big thing for me to go away from my daughter full-time. If I'm going to be leaving her for 40 hours a week, I want it to be important and I want to inspire her. I started my trade before she could even talk so she’s never going to have it in her mind, like I used to, that a trade is a male thing – she has a mum who’s done it.
What I love about plumbing is problem-solving. Things aren’t always the same – if there’s a burst pipe there are all these different ways to fix it. You’re always thinking on your feet and having to figure out what’s going to work best and how you’re going to do it.
I’d tell other women thinking of doing apprenticeships that they absolutely should. There are so many more females in trades than even three years ago when I started. Now people are pushing for women in trades and there are great things like the Bunnings Trade Women in Apprenticeships Awards.
Winning the award made me feel validated. To have someone go, ‘You deserve this, we’re picking you’ – it makes me feel really good about myself. I’m not just doing this, but it seems like I’m doing it pretty well.
The handiest tool I have would have to be the Makita impact driver. I bought it as soon as I got my apprenticeship, and it has been so useful on and off the job. In plumbing you often have to take things apart to get behind – or even in! – things to fix pipework or to find a leak. Having a tool that can take things apart and put them back together quickly is great.
Photo Credit: Julian Kingma, Kate Dryer, Emily Hanna
