A former high school student from Whakatāne is helping encourage more girls into trades.

Natalee Hughes was speaking at a Connexis Girls with Hi-Vis (GWHV) event in Whakatane, recently.

Connexis, a training provider for infrastructure industries such as civil, energy, telecommunications and water, hosts GWHV events around the country each June with the goal of attracting more women into careers in the sector and helping ease serious skills shortages.

After attending a similar event hosted by Horizon Networks in Whakatāne, Ms Hughes completed a Gateway programme with Horizon while a student at Trident High School. This cemented the idea that a career as a line mechanic was for her.

When she left school, Ms Hughes joined Horizon as an apprentice line mechanic and is due to complete her apprenticeship later this year.  She is encouraging other young women into similar apprenticeships by helping at recent GWHV events.

“I really enjoyed the day when I visited through Girls with Hi-Vis. As a student, I really enjoyed being a bucket operator and controlling a crane, but the best thing was pole top rescue and I really enjoyed the hands-on nature of the work,” she said.

“GWHV is important because it gives girls a chance to try things you wouldn’t usually expect girls to do,” she said. “If you’re thinking about a trade, just go for it. Don’t let the opportunity pass you by – you might regret it.”

Ms Hughes said the thing she loved most about her job was the people she worked with out in the field.

“They push me past boundaries that I never thought I could cross. They make me feel a part of the line mechanic whānau.”

Connexis executive director Kaarin Gaukrodger said industries were keen to draw the attention of women toward infrastructure careers, as women had shown to add real value into the crews and teams they worked with.

“Women can bring a different approach to jobs, which can benefit everyone. For example, they might adapt physically demanding tasks to find a new way of doing them. That can reduce fatigue and improve safety onsite for everyone. Other valuable skill sets they might bring are attention to detail and good communication skills.”

Ms Gaukrodger said most of the infrastructure industries Connexis worked with were facing severe skills shortages, so they were reaching out to everyone in their local communities to make them aware of the career opportunities available.

“Infrastructure apprentices and trainees have the chance to work on huge projects, operating impressive machinery with lots of opportunities to grow, while keeping our communities connected, healthy and safe.

“The employers understand the opportunity that comes with bringing more females into their workforce, which is why so many of them have long supported GWHV. Our job is to make sure infrastructure trades are front of mind for the next generation of young women when they’re making decisions about their future careers. GWHV is an effective way to do that.”