Rebecca Kassabian is Wirtgen Australia’s first female Apprentice Technician.
LEARNING BY
DOING
ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE CAUGHT UP WITH WIRTGEN AUSTRALIA’S FIRST FEMALE APPRENTICE TECHNICIAN TO LEARN ABOUT HER EXPERIENCE SO FAR AND HER GOALS FOR THE FUTURE.
I
n 2021, when Rebecca Kassabian saw an advertisement online for a service technician vacancy that offered vocational training and apprenticeship by Wirtgen Australia, she didn’t know what to expect from the job. She had never worked with vehicles or heavy machinery, except for her year-long experience as traffic controller. Seven months into the four-year program as Wirtgen Australia’s first female Apprentice Technician, she’s finding the job a lot more interesting than she had imagined. “I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as I do,” says Kassabian. “Every day is different. We 26
ROADS MARCH 2022
come into the workshop every morning and we are assigned the required tasks for the day, which can be anything from servicing machines, building or preparing new machines to be sent out or helping introduce customers to the machines they have purchased.” While the program combines theoretical classes at TAFE New South Wales with hands-on experience at Wirtgen’s workshop in Western Sydney, Kassabian says most of her learning so far has come from working with experienced Wirtgen service technicians and learning on the job. “Apart from another second-year
apprentice and myself, everyone here is fully qualified. So, if I ever struggle with anything, I can just ask one of the guys and they will point me in the right direction, whether that’s using a different tool or just using the tools differently.” Kassabian says while her family were supportive of her career choice, some thought she might not be cut out for it. “My brother thought I was not ‘hardy’ enough,” she jokes. But the experience is already coming in handy, she says. Recently, she was able to replace the water pump on her own car without much help from her supervisor.
