Penny is a passionate plumbing apprentice based in Melbourne, Victoria. Read about her trade journey below:
I believe you are completing a plumbing apprenticeship at the moment – what made you decide to undertake it?
Yes, I am interested in maintenance and always want to be a plumber. I enjoy working with my hands and like to spend my time to build or fix things around the house. I would like to equip my plumbing knowledge and skillsets with a leading company specializing in maintenance in the field. I feel privileged I can be part of CAB Plumbing family and started my 1st year apprenticeship with since in May this year.
What words of advice would you give to other women thinking of taking up plumbing or other construction trades?
Believe in yourself, never give up chasing your dreams, keep learning and growing your skillset and knowledge by learning from the expertise of the team/company. Most importantly, finding support from the community groups such as Tradeswomen Australia to get new ideas to the women who are working in the field.
Are there any interesting facts about yourself that you’d be happy to share with us?
I think that doing something you like with your strength is very important. I am an energetic person and love teamwork. In my previous job, I had chance to manage stocks and resolve operational issues from the warehouse. I realised I was capable of handling physical work, and I always seemed to work better and was happier working with my hands. I started looking up on You Tube to learn about plumbing maintenance and did some fixing at home, sooner or later it became one of my hobbies – even though I failed sometimes and created more issues! When I saw the free TAFE advertisement on TV last year, I was so excited. So, I did the pre-apprenticeship course in Plumbing early this year, and I am pleased to join CAB plumbing and have a mentor to continue my trade journey.
From the employer:
Penny is a matured aged apprentice who began her journey with us May 2020. Penny’s experience with the SES, already holding working at heights training and safety construction induction card, and a near completed pre-apprenticeship, with a real sense of achievement when giving us details on conquering domestic irrigation installation issues at home by researching, diagnosing and repairing when we first met, impressed us. We were encouraged by Penny’s self-motivated learning and keen interest in the plumbing industry. Penny is an absolute pleasure to work with and we are pleased to see her equally enjoy and grow towards achieving her goal of becoming a qualified plumber.
