Our latest Getting Women into Trades event was the best yet!

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

Congratulations to Krissy Danford - NAWIC/BCITO Awards Finalist!

We are very proud that WIT's own wonderful Treasurer Krissy Danford has been recognised for her hard work by the NAWIC-BCITO judges. Krissy is a finalist in this year’s Construction Services category.

Krissy joined the WIT National Committee in early 2017 and has been the force behind the scenes keeping the finances on track and the IRD happy. She is also Administration and Finance Manager and on the Advisory Board at Johnstone Construction.

Krissy has been instrumental in not just managing WIT's finances but organising the Johnstone Construction digger to be available for women to “have a go” on at the WIT events - a once in a lifetime opportunity for many of them!

Krissy unfortunately will not be able to make the Awards evening but she has a good excuse, in addition to all her amazing feats above she is adding Everest Base Camp to the list.

Tamara Croft, who works with Krissy on WIT, Johnstone Construction and a new venture ModBuild, loves working alongside her;

“Krissy is a get stuff done person. And she does it all with grace and humour - she is a lot of fun to work with! It is wonderful to see her being honoured by the construction industry for her passion and commitment to it.”

Read more about Krissy's construction journey...

Hear more about our 2019 panelists...

Another year, another fantastic event encouraging women to consider a career in trades. We cannot do it without our wonderful panelists who share their honest, funny and heart warming accounts of being a woman "on the tools" (or managing them!)

Squadron Leader Rebecca Magdalinos, Mechanic and Aircraft Engineer - Royal New Zealand Air Force

Throughout her engineering career Squadron Leader Magdalinos has held a number of command posts and staff roles, served on all four Bases, led engineering teams to Australia, the UK and the USA and deployed operationally to Egypt. She currently leads the RNZAF youth investment/outreach programmes (STEM focus).

Throughout her career Squadron Leader Magdalinos has been a staunch advocate for, and integral in, the creation and delivery of a variety of diversity and inclusion initiatives. In 2012 Squadron Leader Magdalinos was a founding member of the NZDF LGBTIQ+ support network OverWatch holding various leadership positions within that network for several years. She has also been integral in the Women’s Development space for both RNZAF and NZDF and more recently co-developed the School to Skies residential program as the inaugural Officer in Charge.

A graduate of the Global Women Breakthrough Leaders program (2017) and recipient of the Defence Meritorious Service Medal in 2018.

Squadron Leader Magdalinos is passionate about creating opportunity for all people to live into their potential and invests strongly in people whilst fulfilling her engineering obligations. She is married to Anna and has a sassy little two year old daughter, Abigail.

Cassidy Repia, Automotive Refinisher at Bush Road Panelbeaters

Cassidy is aged 22 and has just finished her apprenticeship in Automotive Refinishing (car painting) through MITO, working at Bush Road Panelbeaters in Auckland.

She was recently announced as the 2019 recipient of the Collision Repair Association Apprentice of the Year – Golden Gun award. A huge feat for the only female in the running in New Zealand!

Cassidy was selected as one of four apprentices to feature in MITO’s digital marketing campaign targeted to school leavers in Oct-Nov 2018 and Feb-Mar 2019. View her MITO profile and video.

Eddie Green, Maintenance Supervisor at Pacific Steel

Eddie is the Maintenance Superintendent at one of Pacific Steels plants and joined the panel to give the "employer" perspective of being (or hiring) a woman in trades.

Pacific Steel are a host company for mechanical and electrical apprentices, and Eddie also manages the apprentice scheme for the company. Eddie has been a leading figure to make Pacific Steel a more diverse and inclusive workforce and a visible supporter of females in the trades. This is demonstrated by Pacific Steel now having a 50% female participation rate in their apprentice scheme (6 of their 12 apprentices are female).

Sophia Hattingh, Apprentice at Pacific Steel

Six months ago Sophia started her electrical apprenticeship at Pacific Steel where she has become a highly valued member of the team. Sophia has a university background but chose to take up an apprenticeship once she finished her University studies and has not looked back since.

Meet a Busy Mum Building a New Career in the Trades

Jo Stirling, from Queenstown, is an excellent example of a woman not afraid to start a new career after having kids.

When Jo was looking to go back to work, she knew she needed to find a job that would work around her being a mum of two young kids. She tried a few different career paths, one being an in-home child carer. Jo says in-home childcare was a great job while her kids were little. However, the inconsistency of work was a challenge. She really wanted to find something that she was passionate about and that could offer more stability in the future.

At 30 years old, Jo is now almost three years into her building apprenticeship, and although it’s busy balancing her new career and looking after her two kids, aged seven and eight, she has no regrets.

Becoming a builder was a big leap from early childhood care. But Jo had always been keen on building things in her spare time, so she wanted to turn her passion into a career.

“I studied woodwork at school, had worked at PlaceMakers and I’d always enjoyed building things in my spare time. So the idea didn’t come completely out of the blue. I decided it could be more than just a hobby and I wanted to make a career out of it.”

“Once I’d made my mind up, I started asking around and talking to a few people about apprenticeships. I got a few laughs from some people, but luckily, I had a friend who was a builder and I told him I was interested. He said he’d give me a job – and I still work for him now.”

Like most working parents, being an apprentice and balancing life as a busy mum comes with its challenges, says Jo.

“I wouldn’t say it’s easy. I’m just really lucky that I’ve got a good boss who lets me leave early a couple days a week so I can pick the kids up from school.”

Jo never let the fact that the industry is male dominated stop her for pursuing her passion. She urges women to get past the stigmatism and give it a go.

“When I was at school, I didn’t really think that women could go into the trades. When I did woodwork at school, I was the only female in the class. I’II talk to other women now, and they say they’d love to do it and think it would be a really cool job. I think if you have a passion for it, then there’s nothing stopping you from being able to do it.”

When asked what her favourite thing about building was, Jo said it was being able to visually see the progress every day.

“I think the best thing is that I can actually stand back and be proud of what I’ve built. It’s very rewarding to see the results on a day to day basis, maybe more so than an office job.”

After being encouraged to enter by her BCITO training advisor, Jo entered herself into the Registered Master Builders CARTERS Apprentice of the Year competition this year. She recently competed in her first regional practical challenge, where the apprentices were challenged to build a bird box.

Jo will find out at the end of August if she has placed in the Southern regional competition, and if she wins first place, she will go on to compete in the National competition later in the year.

Meet Flora Rivers, our 2019 Mitre 10 Trade Keynote Award Winner

We are very excited to announce the winner of 2019’s Mitre 10 Trade Keynote Award is Flora Rivers of Johnstone Construction.

It was a difficult decision as the three finalists were all of a high calibre. A huge thank you to the other finalists, Kellie Hinton and Jahna Stephens, for sharing their inspiring journeys with us and we wish them the very best of luck in their careers. The judges were inspired by these amazing wahine and were honoured to read their stories.

Flora’s application wowed the judges with her great attitude to life as a woman working in a non-traditional industry and her inspiring goals for the future.

It was noted that Flora’s sense of humour must help her out when things get challenging, one of her responses to what she enjoys about her job is;

“Having the ability to motivate even the laziest lad on site because they don’t like being shown up by a girl. I love hard work that may literally involve getting my hands and clothes dirty and that should be okay.”

Flora undertook her Level 3 Carpentry qualification at Unitec and was part of the Maori and Pacifica Trades Training (MPTT) Scholarship programme. She loved her time learning the basics as a pre-trader and even attended last year’s Women in Trades event in Auckland where she met her future employer! The pictures above are of Flora giving a range of trades activities a go and even meeting last year's Keynote Award winner Pip Buunk.

Flora is currently working on her Level 4 Carpentry qualification through BCITO as she learns the hands-on aspects of the construction world in her role as an Apprentice Carpenter at Johnstone Construction. Managing Director, Hugh Johnstone, is proud of how quickly Flora has settled into life on the tools and become an invaluable member of the JCL team;

“We searched for 3 years to find a woman to take on an apprenticeship with us and the wait was worth it. Flora has proven that jobs really do have no gender as she has taken her role and run with it, she is always looking for ways to challenge and extend herself. We are so proud that she now has the opportunity to inspire other women to consider a career in trades.”

Flora is not just working toward her carpentry qualification but is also undertaking papers in Construction Management and Engineering, all to help her toward her long-term goal of working on construction projects in the Pacific for the UNDP.

She was described by the judges as;

“…being one to watch, a role model in many aspects of her life and someone who is very grounded but has worked hard and deserves recognition!”

Flora will now work with Speechmarks to craft and develop her speech and public speaking skills so that she can deliver the keynote address at our upcoming event in Auckland.

A big thank you to our wonderful judges:

• Daimler Teves, Trade Marketing Manager at Mitre 10 Trade
• Diana Thomson, Public Speaking Coach at Speechmarks
• Pip Buunk, 2018 Winner of the Mitre 10 Trade Keynote Award and Senior Registered Driller
• Riripeti Reedy, Senior Advisor at Ministry for Women

Meet the Mitre 10 Trade Keynote Award Finalists

Entries have closed for this year's Mitre 10 Trade Keynote Award and the team at Women in Trades have had a wonderful time reading all the entries.

There were some strong entries this year and we wish all of them could be finalists - it is inspiring to know so many women are really making a go of life on the tools and loving (almost!) every day of it. So a huge thank you to all our entrants for their hard work and commitment to making a go of it in non-traditional industries.

We are very pleased to announce the following fantastic women as the 2019 finalists:

• Kellie Hinton of Advanced Plumbing & Drainage Ltd
• Flora Rivers of Johnstone Construction Ltd
• Jahna Stephens of New Zealand Steel Ltd

The judges are currently assessing the finalists and an announcement on the winner will be made next week.

The winner will receive one on one professional coaching with Diana Thomson of Speechmarks to craft a powerful presentation about their journey and learn public speaking and presentation skills. They will then give the Keynote speech at our annual Women in Trades conference held at Proclima Hub, Auckland in August. To find out more about this wonderful event visit our event page.

Good luck to all the finalists!

WIT's Tamara Croft is a finalist in the Governance NZ Awards

Secretary of our National Committee, Tamara Croft, is a finalist in this years Governance NZ, Women in Governance Awards in the Not-for-Profit category.

Tamara has been on the journey with Women in Trades since near the beginning in 2016 when the first event was a twinkle in the eye of the organisers.

She has been an integral part of the governance team alongside our Chairperson, Kylie Taffard, and Treasurer Krissy Danford.

Tamara is thrilled with the nomination and to be a finalist;

"Like so much in life, Women in Trades is a real team effort and couldn't be done without the mahi and support from the rest of the executive committee. I am proud of what we have achieved so far and to be on this journey with such inspiring and dedicated people."

Tamara started on the journey toward her governance career early on when she was a Programme Manager with the Beachheads team at NZTE, working alongside a private sector Advisory Board to support high-growth NZ companies accelerate their access to offshore markets.

The early exposure to the issues facing companies at a strategic and governance level and the empowerment of seeing women at the Board of Advisors table made her think one day she could take a seat there too;

"Early on I could see that the best decisions and guidance came from Boards that were diverse - diverse in age, gender, ethnicity, professional background and geographic location. I am pleased that the work being done with Women in Trades is helping contribute to this diversity."

We are excited to see our own organisation up for an award and the team will be at the Awards evening to celebrate together.

Johnstone Construction are Finalists in Governance NZ Awards

One of our founding sponsors, Johnstone Construction Ltd, is a finalist in the national Women in Governance Awards. They are up for Gender Diverse Organisation of the Year.

The judges said that the standard of entries was particularly high this year, making judging a difficult task, so we are very proud of our friends at Johnstone Construction for making it to the finals.

A special mention must be made of our own Women in Trades Treasurer Krissy Danford who is part of the Leadership team at Johnstone Construction. Krissy is a wonderful advocate and supporter of women in construction and the trades.

Managing Director Hugh Johnstone credits the efforts across the company from the site teams to the boardroom with providing an inclusive and supportive workplace for people from a diversity of backgrounds. He is particularly proud of having women at every level of the company after a concerted recruitment effort by the leadership team.

Their latest recruit, Carpentry Apprentice Flora Rivers, came to Johnstone Construction after first meeting some of the team during a "Give it a Go" activity at the Auckland 2018 Women in Trades event!

Congratulations to the team at Johnstone Construction and we wish them well for the Awards.

Find out more about the awards.

2019 Mitre 10 Trade Keynote Award NOW OPEN!

Applications are now open for our 2019 Mitre 10 Trade Keynote Award. The Award provides public presentation and personal story crafting skills to an inspiring tradeswoman.

The Award Recipient will work with a professional public speaking coach prior to the WIT 2019 event to craft a presentation about their experience as a woman in trades and will give the Keynote Address on the evening.

The application process is really easy & should only take 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Simply fill out the short form (download below) and send it in to us, along with a 1 page CV.

Applications open Tuesday May 21st and close Wednesday 26th June.

Download the Application.

Here is what 2018 recipient Pip Buunk thought about working with Diana:

"I’m a word person, I feel I can write professionally or creatively fairly well, and I assumed this would follow through to writing speeches.

But... when I started working wth Diana on my keynote speech, kindly sponsored by Mitre 10 Trade, I discovered presenting my words verbally is a whole different animal!

Diana is bubbly, friendly and professional. She let me decide the topics and information to cover while teaching me to mould the format of my story so that it worked well for a spoken presentation.

The skills I learned under Diana’s guidance have served me well for several speeches, as well as for meetings and interviews I have since taken part in. It was invaluable to my personal and professional development and I plan to work with her again when I need guidance on future speaking engagements."

Read about the highlights of Pip's career in her own words here.

Find out which trade is right for you!

Not sure what trade is right for you? Got a Trade, Got it Made has a handy tool for tool for working out which trades path could work for you.

Check it out at Get-a-Trade-Tool