Girls Try A Trade
For the second year, our Year 10 students had the opportunity to take part in a three-day course at SkillHire in Forrestfield last week. This program teaches students some of the basics of the building and construction industry.
Day one started with a work site induction and learning about occupational health and safety. The trainer took us through how to lay bricks, so they were level and plumb. This was a lot harder than we first thought, as many of the girls had not used a spirit level before. After we had laid down our bricks 10-courses high, the fun really began! We used a mud and lime mixture to butter our bricks and start building our posts. This took most of the first day. We were very tired on the way home on the bus.
Day two was spent completing the bricklaying work and starting on picket fences. Most of us agreed that the carpentry part of the course was our favourite. On the last day, we finished their building with some brick paving before demolishing the construction and cleaning up.
Year 10 student Lauren Hester, who participated in the program, shared the following.
“The Try-a-Trade program was an excellent experience to be able to try out more options for careers. I was glad to be able to be a part of this initiative offered by the College. The variety of trades we undertook gave us a wide view of pathways we could choose after our school years. We completed tasks such as building a brick pillar and wall, making wooden picket fences and paving. This program was lots of fun and taught us some valuable life lessons.”
Lisa Shelley, REACH Coordinator, said, “It was great to see the girls working together to support and encourage each other during the three days. Students learnt valuable skills in teamwork, resilience and problem-solving. While many of the students agree that a career in building and construction is not for them, they all agreed that being able to work in the manual arts area and try something new was worth the experience. The girls proved that when it comes to building and construction and giving it a go, there are no gender stereotypes!”
SkillHire has an upcoming information evening about future pathways in the building and construction industry. They are also offering the Try a Trade experience at their Forrestfield facility during the upcoming October school holidays. If you are interested, please see Mrs Hughes or Mrs Shelley in the Careers office for further information and how to register.
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Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
