Meet Natalia Ioane
I'm a 4th year apprentice Plumber, Gasfitter and Drainlayer and i've been working in the industry for 5 years.
Before Plumbing, I was a student at Otago University on a scholarship with ambitions to become a dentist. Study life full time wasn't for me so I came home and worked at a local butcher shop doing retail. Then, I was 19 and knew I needed a 'hands on' type career so I chose Plumbing and job a for life guaranteed.
Tell us about how you got your job/apprenticeship.
I approached my previous company I used to work for in person expressing my interest in becoming a plumber and asked to do some work experience to get an idea of what its like. After that I was hired in a full time position on a labouring contract for 6 months then signed up for my apprenticeship.
How have you progressed in your career? I'm now confident enough to be left alone and complete small tasks on my own. I've learnt so much over the past 4 years and still yet have alot more to learn.
I gained lots of experience from my previous company in residential maintenance for the first 3.5 years of my apprenticeship. Day to day I was doing 3/5 jobs a day on average with a tradesmen helping the boys fix leaks, replacing leaking hot water cylinders, servicing gas appliances, clearing blocked drains and much more. Last year I moved onto commercial plumbing, doing new installs on the big sites. This gave me more of an understanding working with the Building Code and Standards which is beneficial for my exams.
What you get up to day to day at work? A normal day for me is going through plans, running waters inside the walls and ceiling's and waste pipes in preparation for pre line inspections. We're currently working through 1st fix.
One big challenge I had to overcome was dealing with the doubt of other people. A lot of people were questioning why I chose plumbing and why the trades in general suggesting that its a bad idea. I put all those opinions aside because I already made up my mind that this what I wanted to do.
My most proud career achievement is:
Piping out my first mains hot water cylinder on a job on my own and inspiring other women to get on the tools.
My future career goals are: To be certified in all 3 of my trades and gain my backflow certification license.
My career has definitely given me thick skin. My hobbies fit perfectly around my work since my hours are 7am to 4pm - so it gives me a good chunk of my evening to go to the gym or catch up with family/friends.
What worked well for me personally was doing the Pre Trade Plumbing course with Te Pukenga. It meant that I had the very basic knowledge of how to connect various pipes we use,I would highly recommend you learn how to drive manual and be confident as most trade vehicles aren't guaranteed to be automatic. At minimum, have a restricted license sat in manual transmission and get your full license as soon as possible.
If you're thinking about doing a trade, stick with it, apply yourself and work hard!! Its not easy being a woman in a world of men, but the world is your oyster!! Grab the opportunity and you'll grow not only in the industry, but as a person as well with the character development. The opportunities are endless in the trades! Bite the bullet and go for it.
