Young girls learning important skills

Last week 18 year eight and nine female students at Gilgandra High School (GHS) got the chance to learn some important skills. Supporting and Linking Tradeswomen (SALT) held a workshop to teach basic tool skills in the school’s quadrangle.

The philosophy behind the organisation is that females are usually not taught how to use or develop proficiency with power tools and tools in general and therefore are at a disadvantage when applying for trade apprenticeships. With trades becoming more and more prolific and lucrative in the job market SALT’s objective is to bring to our attention to the access boundaries and remove them.

SALT’s Fi Sheering said that after researching women in the trades, they found that a support network was necessary for women in trades but that they “also needed to try and change how people viewed job”.

While the focus is primarily on women, Ms Sheering said they’ve “never refused a boy or a man either”. The workshop instructor said that the response at GHS had been “amazing” and that they always loved seeing how the girls progressed as the workshop went on.

“Every time we come, they absolutely adore it. We love seeing the change when they first come in very nervous, not sure that they want to do this and by the end of it they’re all absolutely pumped and enjoying it.”