27 Aug 2020

Through a recent survey conducted in partnership with our mates at VERTO targeting 15 to 24-year-old females in NSW, we realised just how many misconceptions and negative stigmas are surrounding trades as a career option for girls.

We asked how your school positioned apprenticeships and trades and just 23% of you said that your school actually positioned them positively. A fifth of you answered; “positively for males but not for females” and 27% of you said, “they didn’t talk about them at all”.

We found that there was a strong interest from female senior school students and recent graduates to pursue a trade but a whopping 57% of you said that you were apprehensive to enter an environment lacking female support and face gender discrimination during or after your apprenticeship.

The truth is, traditionally, apprenticeships and trades have been a boy’s club. But times are a-changing. Girls, here’s what you need to know about doing a trade.

It’s a career for both men and women

In our survey, we asked ‘Who has encouraged you to pursue a trade?’ A staggering 62% of you said that nobody has.

But what if we told you that popular construction trades like electrical, carpentry and plumbing, are rising in popularity amongst women across Australia. Or that women who are in construction are 2.5x as likely to own and run their own business than women not in construction. Or that women are starting to outperform their male counterparts in many traditionally male-dominated industries, and if we can encourage higher participation, it could provide the answer to a looming trade skills shortage, play a role in reducing rising youth unemployment rates and could boost our economy by $25 billion over the decade… Wow, now that’s something I want to take part in.

But for real, increasing gender diversity is a positive for any industry; it brings different perspectives to a workplace and can change outdated cultures for the better. Trades are realising this and are opening up their recruitment programs to actively encourage female apprentices. 

Trades are a great post school option

Majority of you said that the awareness in schools surrounding trades like brochures, seminars, career open days and expo’s surrounding apprenticeships were predominantly run by men. We get it, that’s not very inviting.

What this failed to make you aware of, is that doing a trade is a pretty damn incredible post school option for anyone – especially if your passion lies in being hands-on and practical! I mean, apprentices are more likely to land a job after finishing their training than a university graduate! Not only that but, whilst your mates are slogging away to get a uni degree, you’re gaining a qualification and getting paid a wage. Killing two birds with one stone whilst so young is a power move if I ever saw one!

There are tonnes of career prospects

There are over 500 apprenticeship and traineeship vocations in Australia today! From mechanics to wine makers, aviation engineers to healthcare workers, apprenticeships offer a diverse variety of career paths. It’s inevitable that you’ll find a rewarding career perfectly suited to your existing skills.

You’d also be learning transferable skills every day and be equipped with leadership dexterity for future management roles. Let’s be real, the world needs and wants more girls in positions of power.

If this opened your eyes to the world of trades for females, don’t hesitate to suss out VERTO to get yourself a trade. VERTO sees a number of tradie ladies who have fulfilling careers and this increase in gender diversity will only be a great thing!

 

Do it for yourself. Do it for the girls.