Sisters are doing it for themselves: Second-year automotive refinishing apprentice at Woollards Auto Body Works Chloe Lee says she believes being a woman made it trickier to secure an apprenticeship in a traditionally male-dominated role.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Second-year apprentice Chloe Lee didn’t see herself working in the automotive industry despite growing up around cars, but she was certain she’d rather be paid to train for a trade qualification than pay to train for one.
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“Once I graduated high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do except I knew I didn’t want to go to university,” the 23-year-old automotive refinishing apprentice said.
“I was working at a supermarket and I knew it was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I knew I wanted some sort of education and I wanted to get paid at the same time, so an apprenticeship was the best option.”
Ms Lee said it was hard to secure her apprenticeship because she hadn’t had specific automotive work experience and also suspected that being a woman had “a bit to do with it”.
“I actually applied here (Woollards Auto Body Works in Shepparton) three times before I got the job,” she said.
Ms Lee thought if she could get her foot in the door by doing some work experience and getting to know everyone, she could potentially move on to an apprenticeship in the paint shop.
“They put me over in the detail bay and I got my experience around the cars and all the other workers to see I mingled well, and then I moved on to my apprenticeship,” Ms Lee said.
That took six months.
Ms Lee said aside from the spare parts manager at her workplace, also a woman and a qualified mechanic, the rest of the staff were men.
Breaking barriers: Shepparton woman Chloe Lee is a second-year apprentice in a historically male-dominated trade.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2019 the percentage of women in male-dominated trades was less than three per cent.
In July, human services provider Advanced Personnel Management will begin helping the Australian Government increase the number of women in traditionally male-dominated roles in Shepparton and surrounds.
APM is also focused on increasing the number of apprentices in the region in clean energy occupations — such as solar installation, large-scale renewable projects, electric vehicles, green hydrogen and renewable manufacturing — to help transition Australia to a carbon-neutral future.
The government has overhauled the Australian Apprenticeship Support Services and brought in new providers to increase the number of apprentices nationally in key areas to help underpin Australia’s future economic and skills security.
The provider will also offer general support for all Shepparton apprentices.
Employment Services chief executive Karen Rainbow said APM was looking forward to working across the Goulburn Valley to improve apprenticeship retention rates.
“Apprenticeships are the backbone of our national skills system and this new service is the product of a long consultation that will place apprentices at the centre of everything and help set them up for success,” she said.
“APM is very excited to be offering this important initiative in Shepparton and we look forward to strengthened mentoring support services for apprentices and employers while providing greater support for key client groups such as women in male-dominated trades and clean energy occupations.”
Ms Lee said she would undoubtedly recommend other women get into the same or similar field as her.
“Just because, at the moment, a lot of it’s a male-dominated industry doesn’t mean we can’t make it not a male-dominated industry,” she said.
Her advice to women seeking apprenticeships was to be persistent.
“I applied for a lot of places in the Shepparton area and got turned down a lot,” the former Wanganui Park Secondary College student said.
“It kind of cuts you down a little bit, but just keep trying. If it’s what you really, really want to do, don’t give up.”
