Women In Trades Wednesday- Syd Gill
Syd Gill is currently going into her second year as a carpentry apprentice through BCITO. While attending Tawa College Syd didn’t feel she was very good at the other subjects so stuck to only going to wood work and PE classes.
In year 12 Syd decided that she would give Trades Academy at WELTEC a go, where she picked Carpentry. “I really enjoyed the hands-on work at the course, and from there building really grew on me. What made my mind up was that I really wanted a ute and I thought to myself ‘well, tradies have utes’ so I may as well give it a go and see where it goes.”
At graduation of this course, Syd was approached by a lady who gave her a business card, and within a few days had a meeting with a company. “The interview went really well, and I started with this company a week later. About 6 months in I changed employers because I wanted to get the best opportunities for my apprenticeship” she explains.
A typical day sees Syd “starting at 7am on site- unless its a Tuesday, where we have a tool box meeting at the yard at 7, then make our way to site after. As I am an apprentice, I'm moved from site to site often, so I get to work with different people and experience different jobs.”
She is currently working on a house built in 1900- “we are framing up and installing windows, we usually smash out the work till 5.”
Syd does encounter a few obstacles working in her trade- “for example when sub-trades or delivery drivers come on site, they often ask me on a date to go get a beer at the pub, or they ask if they can talk to a ‘real builder.’ I also struggle with confidence because I am always compared to the guys- I am my own person! I may not be as strong as the others but I try make up for it in other ways.”
On what she loves about her career in carpentry, Syd says- “I love building because every day is different and I'm always trying/learning new things. I love being hands on because the long days and hard work is so rewarding! You also get a pretty good tan in the summer.”
Her proudest moment so far is being approached by a tool company- “when Stabila Levels messaged me on instagram asking if I wanted to be an ambassador for them, it made me feel awesome because they obviously see potential in me!”
Syd’s future goals include: “being the best builder I can be, I would love to have my own female apprentice and one day I'd love to run my own company.”
She notes her trade has had a positive impact outside of work and in her sporting hobbies- “Being in this industry has definitely helped my strength and fitness outside of work too. I play AFL locally and I occasionally play for AFLNZ. Since I started building, I've noticed a massive improvement in my performance. It has also helped me gain a lot of life skills I never knew I needed!”
Advice Syd would give someone coming into the trades industry is: “just jump in and go for it! Learn heaps, ask lots of questions and the harder you work the better the rewards are going to be.”
