Why more women should seek out a trade career

Posted on 23 September, 2019

Tessa Hall comes from a family full of tradespeople.

And throughout her high school and college years at Mary MacKillop College, she was open to a hands-on learning experience that would lead to a career.

By year 12, Tessa had settled on an electrical trade and she has never looked back.

“I thought it would be challenging physically and mentally which is what I’ve always enjoyed. If I’m not learning or challenging myself somehow I tend to get a bit bored. I had a family friend who already worked for Evoenergy at the time so I knew that was the place I wanted to do my apprenticeship.”

One of the big advantages for Tessa was that she knew she could make her career as big as she wanted.

“I knew it was the kind of place I could learn a diverse range of skills and get to work on the electrical network; so high voltage, things most electricians don’t get to see much of. I also had career advancement in mind and the opportunities such a large and well-established business could offer.”

After working with the company in the vegetation and pole inspection areas for a couple of years, Tessa was delighted in January to take up her Electrical Fitter apprenticeship. Her family was also stoked.

“My dad is a builder and loved the idea of me potentially working with him on future projects.”

The training will take four years to complete, allowing Tessa to experience a broad range of hands-on work experiences as well as her study.

“In all honesty, there is no average day at Evo. We get moved around between sections every few months and some days we’re just needed elsewhere. Everyone meets in the depot in the morning and we sort out our work and go from there. I used to work in the zones substations which, so far, is probably my favourite area. But one day you could be doing substation inspections and maintenance which is pretty straight-forward work, and the next you could be trying to figure out what’s wrong with a 35-55MVA power transformer for example, that can be a full-on job and can take weeks to complete.”

The variety is definitely the best part of the job.

“Some of the things I get to see that are behind the scenes of Canberra’s energy network are amazing in terms of just how much goes into getting power to our homes and business.”

She also relishes the easy-going team and large body of experience she is exposed to.

“Some of the people at Evoenergy have worked here for upwards of 30 years, so there’s definitely no shortage of brains to pick.”

And Tessa has no issues being one of a handful of women in the trade.

“At the moment, we have a female line worker, two female trade assistants, and a number of women starting in our vegetation section. There aren’t many of us at the moment but the number of women entering trades at places like Evoenergy is growing which is great to see.”

Tessa said that you don’t need to come from a family with trade experience and would encourage more women to consider an apprenticeship.

“If there’s a trade that you’re interested in I’d say don’t let the fact that you don’t have experience or it may be ‘male-dominated’ discourage you. It could be the perfect job for you but you’ll never know unless you give it a go. Some of the guys at work have commented that the women seem to do a neater, more careful job when it comes to the smaller wiring jobs, so everyone has their strength and weakness and there’s absolutely no reason why anyone with the interest and the desire to learn can’t do this job, or any other trade on offer.”

In terms of career progression, Tessa has the potential to considerable career progression – including upskilling to switching or protection. Also as she comes out of her apprenticeship with an electrical licence, she can move into the domestic field if she chooses.

Another option is further study in the electrical industry, and even engineering. All the while Tessa is earning her qualifications, she is earning a great wage with the potential to earn in excess of six figures once she is fully qualified.

“But that’s a few years off. For now, I’ll just have to concentrate on learning my trade and passing my tests,” says Tessa.

Evoenergy is recruiting for its next round of Electrical Fitters and has two positions available. If you are interested in applying, please apply here or email recruitment@evoenergy.com.au if you have any questions.