Girls going into trades.....

[debbs77]

I realised today that Trades such as electrican, plumber, gas fitter, painter and decorator would be amazing jobs for women who need to consider jobs are their children.

I know two RP Dads.....both has fitters. They work entirely around drop off, pick up etc, make a GOOD daily rate.

Surely this should be also encouraged for girls with their future families one day?

I did a training course in it at my local construction workshop. It was excellent.

I have a trade. Loved it. The benefits are guaranteed money from a certain cohort (women basically. Particularly older ones) and it's good money.

It's flexible to a point- in so much as I dictate my hours but at the same time in trade if shit goes wrong- you have to stay. You can't leave someone without electric because it's 3.15. Or if you haven't found the source of the leak- you can't just walk. If a gas fit shows a tiny leak- your chasing every joint for a bubble and you cannot go home. So a reliable childcare system is needed. Reliable and flexible.

People also seem to fucking waste women's time more! Chatting. Constant chatting- and as a woman it's not so easy nor as acceptable to say "please leave me alone to work!" And you have to contend with husbands. Who knock about telling you how to do your job how they'd do it better and why (sometimes) at the end they shouldn't have to pay x. To the point where I found appointing a "foreman" on many jobs was worth the extra cost (and the cost was foreman's wage) as men won't worry when men told them x.

Finally most, or at least MANY, a tradesman has a woman doing the admin for him (usually an unpaid wife) doing the work and the admin is in fact- TWO full time jobs. It's hard to get ahead without admin, it's hard to do admin when actually working. To do both whilst being a mother?! Women trades have to do the mothering(proper mothering not just a kiss goodnight and a kickabout twice a week) and they have to do the work (good money but the nature is unpredictable- sometimes a two hour job is ten and other a two day job one) and they get home and have to mother and then do the admin (invoicing/ quoting/ tax/ advertising/ accounting/ etc). Ime men don't do that. They usually use their other half's to until they are fully successful to employ others (often not even then)

Also- apprenticing was very VERY hard for me. It was a boys club all of whom wanted to simultaneously fuck and finish me. But that's a decade ago so I hope that's no longe the case

my day job is designer/maker of bespoke furniture. Have been doing this professionally for 30 years, in which time the number of women entering the business has gone from virtually fuck all to about 35%.

You know, this makes so much sense. I've done the 'wife work' in that scenario and you're right.

Plus I don't have childcare.

Thinking maybe a painter and decorator role, with some basic general maintenance could be a great skill to learn. Wonder if there is a course for this. Off to look x

I actually started a company called TaskHer, specifically for female tradespeople. Our customers love the fact they can book a female plumber, heating engineer or electrician.
We've got a great community of tradeswomen too who are always happy to share support with up and coming tradeswomen and those training!😀

I regularly make use of the services of a female painter and decorator, plumber and electrician: they're all not only very good at their jobs, but consistently reliable and I find their communication much better than many male tradies.

Genuinely considering retraining (I currently work at director level in IT) as a tiler!