NEWS & INFO
Our latest Getting Women into Trades event was the best yet!
Our latest event was the best yet! Check out our round up of the highlights in pictures.
The latest Getting Women into Trades event was a sellout! And we think it was our best yet. Attendees had the opportunity to winch a car, tile a shower floor, practice their digger skills and weild some powertools.
We were then inspired by our wonderful Mitre 10 Trade Awardee Flora Rivers Keynote Speech (more on that soon!) and learnt a lot about being a woman in the trades from our panelists.
Some lucky attendees even took away prizes - including a TV!!!
We couldn't do it without our sponsors! Show them some love and check out their social media and websites for all the cool stuff they are doing to support women in trades:
- Proclima Hub
- Mitre 10 Trade
- BCITO (Building Construction Industry Training Organisation)
- MITO
- MPTT (Maori and Pacifika Trades Training)
- Pacific Steel
- Skills
- ATT
- Competenz
- Electrix
- ETCO (Electrical Training Company)
- Johnstone Construction
- Masterlink
- New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF)
- NZMA
- New Zealand Marine & Composites ITO (NZMAC)
- New Zealand Steel
Meet Maggie Myocevich, a Skills Scaffolding Apprentice
Mention the word ‘scaffolding’ and what do most people think of? A male-dominated, tough-guy industry, which is no place for a woman. Anyone thinking that hasn’t met Maggie. In January 2018 Maggie became the first woman to sign on for a NZ Scaffolding Apprenticeship.
NZMA, BCITO & Women in Trades celebrate women in construction
New Zealand Management Academies Ltd (NZMA) hosted their first Women in Construction Breakfast on 10 May with a group of high achieving female construction talent inspiring NZMA students. Women in Trades were there too.
Meet Margaret Otai-vai, Plumbing Student at MIT (2016)
"Give it a go, because it can be done. Don't be intimidated by plumbing being a 'male's job'. Women can do it too,"
Watch Margaret discuss why she loves training for the plumbing trade
Meet Nikita Ward, a Skills Plumbing Apprentice
The idea of working in tight spaces, with grime and sewer pipes gives most people the heebee jeebies. But Nikita Ward gives a different perspective.
“Everyone thinks ‘plumber’ means sh*t,” says Nikita. “I’ve been doing this for three years and only had to deal with it maybe ten times. The grubby stuff is crawling under houses. You get used to it. I quite enjoy it now. I like the challenge of squeezing into small spaces.”
Meet Mel Browne, Carpentry Graduate of MIT
“Just get out there and do it! There’s no difference between them and us”
Women nailing careers in the trades
Female trade apprentices love their career choice, but research shows that few considered a career in building or construction while they were at school.
Find out more about what BCITO’s female apprentices think about their trades careers
Innovative, creative and always training
Meet Milvia Hannah, she has been in business for 26 years, dealing in residential kitchen designs for individual customers, commercial apartments and commercial projects.
Childhood dreams and career choices
Dragon Tamer? Magician? Space Station Boss? Our childhood dreams remain the same, so can revisiting them help our career choice? Sarah Jennings of Carlielle Kitchens took what made her eyes widen as a child and is threading a theme through her career.