The Empowered Women in Trades team recently celebrated National Apprentice Week Australia, recognising and celebrating apprentices across the country.
By Melinda Davis, general manager at Empowered Women in Trades.
Apprentices are our future, and the team enjoyed showing them how grateful and appreciative we are for all they do for trades. Most of the apprentices didn’t know there was such a thing as National Apprentice Week and were surprised to be celebrated.
We heard some incredible stories of their achievements, defining moments and wins they had along the way. We also heard about the challenges and the stories of resilience – apprenticeships aren’t easy.
Our team went out with the crew from APM Apprenticeships to Swinburne TAFE, Box Hill Institute, Skillinvest, and Builders Academy, celebrating apprentices with donut drops and morning tea. We spoke to carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and even some students completing their studies as part of their school experience.
The highlight of the week was the celebration of seven female apprentices who are out there doing what they love and doing it incredibly well. These trailblazers are setting the standard and serving as role models for anyone considering undertaking an apprenticeship.
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First up, we had Jasmine, a plumbing apprentice from Reed Plumbing and Drainage Solutions. Jas loves being a plumber but didn’t always have the confidence to back herself. Jas had some great advice for anyone struggling with confidence: build a strong village around you of friends and family and allow them to be your confidence, lifting you up until you have the belief to lift yourself up.
We celebrated Ana, a first-year fabrication apprentice who is also a mum of four, a student, and a women-in-trades advocate with the AMWU. Ana is the first to recognise that taking on an apprenticeship has been a big challenge, and her plate is very full trying to juggle her commitments. But Ana’s advice is this: you can make anything work if you really want to.
Jenna was up next, a fourth-year electrical apprentice who is about to graduate. Jenna loves her job and couldn’t speak more highly of how incredibly supportive everyone she has interacted with onsite has been throughout her journey. Jenna was a career changer who has found her calling. Good culture onsite makes such a big difference to everyone.
Our fourth apprentice was Clea, a fourth-year carpentry apprentice with Lizad Building and Development. Clea knew from a young age that she wanted to follow in her dad’s footsteps and become a carpenter, and this was only made clearer after completing woodwork at school. You cannot be what you cannot see – a shining example of how important role models are.
Sam, a furniture maker in Victoria, has recently finished her apprenticeship and could not be happier to be qualified in her trade. Sam went from not knowing what she wanted to do and trying lots of things to now holding a qualification and loving her job. Sam highlights the importance of work experience and gaining exposure to different careers, which allows people to find the right apprenticeship for them.
The sixth apprentice was Shae, a third-year boilermaker apprentice. Shae started a Nutrition Science degree but quickly realised that wasn’t where she was meant to be and would rather be welding metal. A highlight of her apprenticeship is being out and about and seeing things she has made, and being able to tell people – ‘I made that’.
Wrapping up our apprentices for National Apprentice Week Australia 2025 was Courtney, a third-year electrical apprentice. Courtney has been a regular at our Empowered Women in Trades (EWIT) schools programs, sharing her incredible knowledge and passion for her trade. Courtney credits a great environment at both her workplaces, Beal Electrical and TAFE, Box Hill Institute, as a big part of her success. It takes a village.
If you want to know more about these amazing apprentices, you can check out their videos on the EWIT YouTube channel. Thank you to our apprentices for sharing their journeys with us and inspiring future apprentices.
A big thank you to our wonderful partners and EWIT alliance members APM Apprenticeships, DeWalt, Anthem Workwear and Steel Blue for getting behind the celebrations and supporting the apprentices with some incredible prizes.
Finally, to all the apprentices out there: we celebrate you. You are doing an amazing job, and our future is in great hands.
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