'World of opportunity' waiting for women like Rebecca in male-dominated trade workforce

Woonona’s Rebecca Napier believes it is time to lift the lid on what a trade can offer women joining the workforce.

After just over one year on the tools at TAFE Illawarra, the BlueScope electrotechnology apprentice has “a whole new admiration for all those tradies out there”.

Rebecca, 22, was among a group of female tradies including four other apprentices, at a recent TAFE NSW gathering in Wollongong to mark Women in Construction Week (2-8 March).

TAFE NSW’s electrotechnology head teacher Leonie Davies pointed out that with 185,200 electricians employed in Australia, women make up only three per cent of that workforce.

She said the Illawarra’s electrical trades sector was growing, and by increasing the number of women working in male-dominated industries could be a key to solving Australia’s ongoing skills shortage.

Rebecca, who grew up in Wagga Wagga, has a few theories on why female numbers in trades are so low.

“I had a great maths teacher who instilled in me a love of solving things, but the overall emphasis back then was on STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and almost nothing much on what a trade can offer,” she says.

“It was treated more as something to fall back on for students who didn’t want to go to university or fell short of marks to get there.

“I can’t remember it ever being pitched as something women can do – maybe because of the strength aspect, but I’m only 5 foot 2 (157 cm) and I’ve been shown ways to get around jobs that need strength and height.

“It might take me a little longer, but I get there.”

Another possible reason she raised is the notion we can’t do what we can’t see.

“I’m an example of that because I come from an academic background with a father who is a research scientist,” says Rebecca.

“He was more likely to have his nose in a research paper than tinkering in the backyard.

“So my only connection with trade industries was when something electrical needed to be fixed or installed at our house or a toilet needed to be unblocked.”

Rebecca’s career path was redirected early, after her second year at University of Wollongong studying for an electrical engineering degree.

“I applied for an apprenticeship at BlueScope that included a four-year TAFE course in electrotechnology, which I jumped at,” she says.

“It’s changed my whole attitude to the trades workforce and has given me an insight into a world of opportunity.

“The first year was mainly about big concepts and calculations and getting down to the nitty-gritty on how those broad concepts work.

“TAFE has great equipment including a room dedicated to just motors to plug into and play with, which is really cool.”

Rebecca’s apprenticeship will involve four workplace rotations on and around the BlueScope site.

“Last year, I was in the coke ovens area mainly working on things like conveyor belts and motors.

“This year, I’m moving into the shipping and berthing area where they bring in the iron ore. The work there is mainly problem-solving, fixing large machines that have broken down.”

Rebecca says what many young people don’t know is that with a trade certificate, there is a whole middle ground of interesting roles between your everyday hands-on electrician and engineers.

“We have this idea of tradies sitting on a worksite eating lunch, but with their background knowledge they could just as easily be sitting in an office designing complex systems,” she says.

Rebecca is aware she has stepped into a transitional period where NSW and Australia is reconfiguring energy and how it will look in the near future.

“I’m excited, and we’ll adapt to whatever technology is in place because problem-solving is at the heart of what I do, so my skills will never become obsolete.”