Embracing change

REANA BIDOIS

A construction site is far cry from the beauty salon, but for apprentice carpenter Reana Bidois it is exactly the right place for her.

Reana is studying a Certificate III in Carpentry and is an apprentice with BPL Contracting in Nowra and on the South Coast.

Reana is among a growing number of women who are capitalising on the construction boom to gain new skills, qualifications, and a new career in an industry with variety and opportunity for growth.

The Australian Government reports women in carpentry and joinery at one per cent, plumbers at one per cent and electricians at two per cent.

TAFE NSW provides women with pathways into a range of traditional trades and already boasts a comparatively higher number of female enrolments in these courses, at six per cent.

Since Reana was a teenager, the 29-year-old wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and learn a trade, but it wasn’t the first career path she pursued.

“After school I started out in hairdressing and was a nail technician for a while. I then had a trucking business in Sydney for a while, but I always wanted to be a tradie,” Reana said.

“When I moved back to Nowra a few years ago I decided to become a carpenter. I started out as a laborer and was offered an apprenticeship.”

In her final year of her apprenticeship, studying through TAFE NSW Nowra, she is thriving in her chosen career. and the feeling of independence.

“I enjoy learning new skills and being able to contribute all while showing my two daughters that they can do anything regardless of whether it is a traditional or non-traditional trade (for women),” she said.

“I would encourage young women coming out of school to consider a trade as their thinking about their future. Girls often talk about nursing, hairdressing, and beauty but I wouldn’t overlook a trade.

“I think as a society we’re really coming around to seeing more equality between men and women, but I think the more we see women taking the step to follow their passion and jumping into a trade, the move we will move this thinking forward.

“Being a woman in this trade isn’t something I give a lot of thought to. The tradesmen I work with don’t treat me any different. I’d say don’t be scared to try a trade, get in touch go for it.”

Reana see women in trades supporting each other as a vital part of more women joining the industry, and she sees herself as part of that.

And she hope to further support women when she finishes her apprenticeship.

“I’d like to become a builder, I would love to be a part of some sort of organization helping women escape domestic violence by helping them repairs any damages, whether that be a part of my career or in my spare time.”

FORGING A PATH FOR FEMALE TRADIES

Australian WorldSkills representative Bella Turrise can add career influencer to her list of achievements, encouraging young women to consider joining the growing smash repair industry.

The Western Sydney local is one of the nation’s top up-and-coming vehicle refinishers, with a slew of awards and accolades to her name including a place on the Australian Skillaroos Team where she will represent her trade internationally in the next WorldSkills competition, and being named the TAFE NSW Supply Chain and eCommerce Student of the Year, Apprentice of the Year, and Student of the Year.

Bella completed her apprenticeship through TAFE NSW Campbelltown last year and remembers when she first started, seeing the skilled tradesmen working on a car and thinking “I want to be doing that.”

“There’s a lot more to it than first appears,” she said. “But those are the skills I’ve learned during my apprenticeship.

“This job is an artform, it’s soothing and I love working on cars, but I now know those skilled tradesmen were making it look easy,” she said.

The award-winning 23-year-old is now working in the $7 billion national industry at Mount Druitt Auto Body Repairs, a member of one of the state’s largest vehicle panel repair and paint companies, the industry leading AMA Group. “I’ve always been passionate about my work, bringing damaged vehicles back to new and my passion continues to grow. I’ve focused on my work and on developing my skills and now I’d like to put some time into encouraging other young women to consider this as a trade.

“I’d like to head back to my old high school in Queanbeyan to speak with girls about careers in the refinishing trade and hopefully inspire some of them to consider a field they might not have thought about.”

Teacher Carl Tinsley was proud of Bella’s achievements and said she was a fitting role model for the automotive spray painting and refinishing sector.

“It’s a very technology-heavy industry now. We have ultraviolet primers and use gas-fired infrared which can dry a car’s paint in under 10 minutes. Also, modern cars are using advanced materials so it’s an exciting and high-tech industry to be in.

“For example, modern cars have loads of sensors for safety and parking. There’s a lot of skill required to be able to paint over them without interfering with their operation. These are the types of skills we teach our apprentices, it’s leading-edge stuff and it continues to evolve.

“Now is a good time to consider becoming an apprentice with the NSW Government subsidising the cost of training under the feefree apprenticeship initiative.”