Two weeks before 24 November 2023, the trade tables were all taken at the now annual TAFE Toolbox Breakfast event Women on Tools, organised by The National Association of Women In Construction (NAWIC). On the day, the courtyard of TAFE Ashmore was buzziing with attendees and big names in the industry from the builder Hutchies to Trade Tools, Reece and the womens’ workwear outfitter Shewear.
As the organiser Radmilla Desic from (NAWIC) had hoped, the atmosphere felt welcoming, inclusive and engaging for newbies like me, and I imagine too for tradeswomen and apprentices breaking into an industry dominated by men. At the event, stakeholders were invited to share industry information, new products and trends that might support women in their trade journeys.
According to an October 2022 review of the industry, women represent only 2% of apprentices and tradespeople in industries such as construction, engineering and automotive, and judging by the support available, this event is designed to swell the numbers. The main barriers to entry include all the usual suspects: gender, cultural bias and discrimination stretching from educational pathways to workplace recruitment, lack of role models, gender pay gap, and the “motherhood penalty”: loss of income, super and viability in the workplace as a result of performing the most important job in the world, mothering.
Our tiny home champion of upskilling women on tools to build their own tiny homes, Kym Oconnell was one of the guests on the panel along with Hon Meaghan Scanlon and the Head of TAFE QLD Karen Dickinson. Karen Muras from Dandelion Safe Homes spoke and Melissa Anderson from BLAQ Diamonds shared her experience of domestic abuse and how her experience informed her line of Indigenous workwear for women. I interviewed Kym after the event to get her impressions of the morning.
Belinda Rennie: I was really impressed with the number of people at this event. How did you get involved?
Kym Oconnell: I was googling “Tradie Ladies” and came across this Toolbox event hosted by NAWIC, the peak national body of volunteers that look after the interests of women in trades. When I understood that they were busting the doors down for women to get into construction careers and mentor them through the process, I just wanted to get involved.
BR: Upskilling women to learn a trade, create an income and build their own Tiny Home could be a possible pathway out of domestic abuse?
KO: Yes. Domestic abuse became a theme of the panel because of the participants’ stories and what they have made of their lives as a result of these experiences.
BR: I liked the way you turned to men and embraced them as our collaborators on the tools rather than our competitors. What was the atmosphere like at the event from your perspective? Were you surprised by the number of supportive men at the event?
KO: No! We don’t have to ask permission anymore. We can stand beside men as equals on the tools bringing complementary skills to the industry. My TAFE teacher/mentor, Ray likes to say women are the best thing that happened to the building industry. He has witnessed first hand and is the first to say that our desire to learn and apply skills, ability to focus on multiple perspectives makes us highly employable.
BR: The Hon Meaghan Scanlon addressed the group along with the head of TAFE, Karen Dickinson. What would you have liked to ask them and what are the changes that need to be made on a structural level to get more Women on Tools.
I would like to ask Karen to meet with women TAFE graduates and hear their story. TAFE graduates need a direct route to the workforce to use their skills immediately, we don’t have time or money to wait for a job, for the industry to catch up with us, we are ready to go. TAFE courses need to have more built in flexibility with study options: full time, night time or 10 day full time intensives over successive weekends. And of course we need women to show up and the funding to support this.
I would like Meaghan to be the champion of relaxing laws around tiny homes on wheels (THOW) as permanent housing in backyards of a certain size. That could solve the housing problem overnight. I want her to support councils to build sheds based on the community “Shedding” model that Sophie Wilksch has begun at The Railway Shed in Mullum. TAFE graduates could be employed there immediately and integrated into the local council’s disaster planning model. What a healthy response to climate breakdown that would be! To have welcome, inclusive places in local communities where people can learn to build and fix things and repair their lives which is what happened after the Northern Rivers and SEQ 2022 floods.
BR: I noticed a young woman tradie came up to you to offer her help to DIY TINY. What was her experience at building sites as a carpenter? And what is your bigger vision?
KO: She said it was so positive. She was mentored by the men she worked with on worksites but she wants to work with more women. Therefore I have a moral obligation to secure space and to get these projects happening. To be that role model for other women. My personal vision is to build a sustainable tiny house, along the lines of the TIGIN built by Common Knowledge in Ireland with a group of women using innovative sustainable materials like hemp and cork incorporating water harvesting and solar power to future proof our lives for generations to come.
