Christine - Electrical and instrumentation apprentice, Viva Energy

Christine works in the maintenance team at Viva Energy in Geelong. She’s in her third year of a five-year dual trade apprenticeship.

“I worked in the NT Government as an administration person in the construction field and then said OK well I want to be out there being hands-on and not being stuck at a desk in the typical gender role.

Our apprenticeship scheme at the moment with Viva is actually 50-50 men and women.

Working in manufacturing helped me grow into a confident, capable, hard worker able to support myself and my family. I love that I can show my kids what I am capable of building and doing despite being a woman, a mother, an older person, a smaller person. I want to show my kids that you can achieve anything you put mind to.

I enjoy coming to work where I feel accepted, I feel that I matter, I feel that I am able to contribute and be heard. Most importantly I feel respected and appreciated from all my peers regardless if they are the other apprentices, dual traders or supervisors.

The message that I give to the girls coming through high school into early career is you’ve got the work-life balance and it pays well. You can support yourself and be independent from the hard work that you do.”

“There’s a lot of pathways and support to help teenagers and women to get into this field.”

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Women in manufacturing – AMWU and Viva Energy, Women in Trades

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Updated 9 October 2024