Have You Thought About a Trade Career?

When we think of tradespeople, we still mainly think of the male of the species. Even the words associated with trades remain male dominated in everyday speech on the whole; few people balk at using the word tradesman.

But things are changing, particularly in the developed economies of the world. In any town or city these days, not only do you spot an increasing number of women carrying out some of the more traditionally male-dominated trades such as plumbing, decorating, carpentry, mechanics and electrical work – but you also see those women positively advertising the fact that they are women. This, presumably, makes other women more likely to book them – and many men would also rather deal with a woman.

But it’s not only anecdotal evidence that confirms the rise of the tradeswoman. One recent study on HiPages showed, for example, that although women account for only around two per cent of the tradespeople working in Australia, that number is growing quickly. In fact, last year alone saw an incredible near 500% rise in female tradie sign-ups.

So things are changing quickly and this, in turn, seems to be encouraging more young females to consider one of the more traditional trades as a career option. But stats also show that women have a lot of catching up to do.

There are several advantages to choosing a trade career. The first is that you’re unlikely to be unemployed. Yes, the demand for tradespeople fluctuates with the economy, it’s true. But most well-qualified, conscientious and diligent tradespeople find they have a steady stream of work even in the leanest of times.

Secondly, being a professionally qualified tradesperson offers a welcome route to self-employment for many people who prefer being their own boss. This isn’t the right thing for everyone, but those people who value a greater degree of freedom of choice about which jobs to do and when, and for how much – and how and when to take time off etc., place great value on this aspect of being self-employed.

Thirdly and perhaps most importantly of all, a trade is a real vocation for many people who feel drawn to that type of career. This is because they feel capable in their chosen line of work and like to work with their hands and see real physical results when a project is complete. This is very lacking in today’s world in many other areas – particularly for those people working for large organisations of any type in senior professional roles such as human resources, legal work, marketing, planning and administration etc. It’s all horses for courses, of course, and you know yourself best; which kind of career appeals most to you?

If a trade of some type does appeal, then have a look around some basic career advice sites initially. Then maybe try and speak to a person in the trade you’re thinking about before having a tryout in some way – perhaps at night school.

Taking these and other positive steps towards a trade will quickly tell your instinctive self whether you’re on the right road. And it’s certainly a road that more and more women are choosing to go down.