The Dapto school program getting girls into trades

The Women in Trades program has started up for another year, providing information and pathways into apprenticeships for female students.

Data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows that women make up just 26 per cent of the workforce in both the construction and the electricty, gas, water and waste services industries, with the largest proportions in the lowest paid quartiles.

There are proportionately even fewer women in mining, while manufacturing's workforce is 28 per cent women.

But Dapto High School senior student mentor Peter Johnson said employers reported hugely positive experiences taking on female apprentices and had described them as more precise and collaborative in their work.

"The other common thing I've found across employers is the harmony in the workshops - there are less disputes," Mr Johnson said.

He is driven by a desire to provide girls with the same opportunities as boys to get into the jobs that interest them, saying it was obvious to him that "women can and should be able to do anything they want".

The program has been running for a few years now and has seen about 18 former Dapto High School students enter apprenticeships.

Among them is Brigitte Pieton, 17, who is now in the first year of electrical apprenticeship through HVTC, hosted by South32.

She did the Women in Trades program after her interest was first piqued when she saw her brother's TAFE work.

Brigitte spoke to a careers adviser who put her onto the program, which she said opened her eyes to the fact that such vocations were for girls as well as boys, and helped her prepare to secure her job.

Second year electrical apprentice Siena Shepherd knew she did not want to go to university and incur a HECS debt, but instead wanted a hands-on job where she could learn while doing it, rather than from books.

The former Kanahooka High School student now works at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) like her mother Bianca, an electrical engineer by trade, although they work in different areas.

Siena was the only woman in her section but said her workmates were all respectful and she was "one of them".

Over the course of the program, female students from Dapto, as well as Warilla, Corrimal and Warrawong high schools, learn what a trade involves; how to work in a male-dominated field, including employment law; and how to find, apply and secure a job.

Year 11 student Montana Gleeson is taking part in the program with the hopes of becoming a carpenter.

For her, the attraction of a trade is its hands-on nature and the ability to create things.

For Naomi Hart, participating in Women in Trades will hopefully help her narrow down a career path she might want to explore.

While the year 11 student is not sure what she wants to do yet, she knows it is a trade because she is more drawn to practical work.

Shelby Byrnes, also in year 11, is interested in becoming a plant mechanic and loves the idea of hands-on work.

She has already done work experience at energy company EDL in Appin and hopes to secure a job there.

Both Shelby's brother and father work in mechanics.

"[It's] good to see other girls doing the trade, not just my brother and dad," she said.