Stanwell Park teen Charlie cements her future in construction industry

These are the eight words 18-year-old Charlie Paine, a fully qualified surveying technician, lives by.

Starting out in a male dominated industry, Ms Paine said she felt strongly about the fact that "anyone can do it if they like, as long as they put their mind to it".

Ms Paine grew up with three brothers and a father working in construction. For much of her childhood she heard her dad say to her brothers they ought to pursue surveying, a skill-set he argued was highly sought-after.

"I was watching them leave school and taking up trades and I was thinking, why can't I be a surveyor? I'm good at maths, too," she said.

This prompted her to leave school and take up a trade, a pathway she became increasingly interested in after COVID brought her school life to a standstill in 2020.

"I realised school wasn't a very productive use of my time and I decided I'd rather go out into the real world, learn some skills and gain some work experience," Ms Paine said.

"I thought back to surveying and realised it would be the most ideal for me because it isn't too physical so I can see it being a career I could develop long-term.

"It was also maths-dominated which is my strong suit and I wasn't interested in hairdressing or beauty courses."

Ms Paine said when she began her course at TAFE campus in Yallah, she found herself in a classroom of 30, being one of two girls there.

"I think it's because most trades are dominated by males and surveying is also a trade that's not well known so that could have been another reason why there were almost no girls.

"I think it's a great job to have in the long-term and girls can definitely do it.

"Our planning skills come in really handy with this sort of work and there're lots of ways you can develop in this job which makes it a really good career to take up, especially if you want to keep it for the long haul."

Ms Paine now has completed her Certificate Certificate III, IV in Surveying and Spacial Services, and has a diploma.

Known as a standout in her TAFE classes, teacher Josh Potter said Ms Paine had "paved the way to show that anyone can do what they want".

"Charlie is very bright and committed and a great example about how TAFE training can give people the skills they need to meet the demand in the industry and hit the ground running," he said.

When asked about recent findings in the Government's Workforce Gender Equality report, Ms Paine was surprised to discover the pay gap between men and women in the construction industry was 31 per cent.

"It definitely annoys me because it shouldn't be like that, your gender doesn't make you better at something.

"It should be more about the effort and time you put in and your output if anything," she said.

"If I got three surveys done and the boys had only gotten two then surely I should be getting paid more, simply because I'm more efficient at my work."

Ms Paine said the issues over gender pay was not something she thought about at work because she was happy with her salary and didn't feel there any inequalities at her employer, Dennis Smith Surveys.

"I don't think I'm getting paid less because of my gender and if I did start to feel that way, I would definitely speak up and say something and I feel like I'm in an environment where I can do that," she said.

Ms Paine said she could see professional development and promotion possibilities within her work by pursuing further study at university.

That would allow her to work under a registered surveyor to one day become registered herself and sign off on more critical surveys.

"At the moment I've just finished my TAFE course and thinking I'm going to take a year to experience the job and decide if I want to do more studies to further my career and if I do I'd start next year," she said.

For those interested in pursuing a career or trade but still hesitant due to a numbers imbalance, Ms Paine says it's important to push past it and just give it a try.

"I think anyone can do whatever they want as long as they put their mind to it and keep showing up," she said.

"So if you're a woman considering a trade and are unsure, I'd say give it a go and see if it's what you like because we should have more women getting amongst it."