Sophie Carver and her dad, Wes, work alongside one another as bricklayers, all while trying to break the stereotypes attached to women in trades. Photo: TAFE NSW.
For some female teenagers, the thought of dropping out of school to pursue a trade is one that seems too far-fetched.
The idea of jumping into a male-dominated industry to tackle gender stereotyped roles is just not that appealing. However, 18-year-old Sophie Carver saw it as an opportunity to thrive.
Sophie dropped out of school when she was 15 to pursue a bricklaying career, starting as an apprentice under her dad.
Now studying at TAFE NSW and in the last 18 months of her apprenticeship, Sophie isn’t looking back.
“When I was at school, I didn’t love it and I wanted to see what else was out there,” Sophie said.
“It’s been really easy and a bit funny having my dad as my boss, but it does make going home a bit annoying after seeing him at work every day,” she joked.
As a third-generation bricklayer, her career path wasn’t new for the Carver family. However, as the first female bricklayer in the family, Sophie has had to overcome some difficult challenges.
“It was a bit scary at first,” Sophie admitted.
“Having these big guys all around, but you sort of learn how to talk back to them and get back at them and now a lot of them I would consider good mates.
“At the start, it was really, really daunting. But as I got more support around me, it was really easy to crack on with it. That’s been the same with TAFE as well. The more I work with them, the more support I get.
“I am hoping there will be more women joining the tradie field in the future. It’s a very male-dominated industry and there are a few things like not having female toilets on-site and things like that, because it’s expected that everyone working is male. I do think by having more females join trades that it can change.”
Almost three years into her apprenticeship, Sophie says she has helped build (along with her dad) more houses than she can count. Photo: TAFE NSW.
Sophie’s dad, Wes, recognised early into his daughter’s teen years that she wasn’t cut out for a life behind a desk. With Sophie taking an interest in the bricklaying industry, he jumped back into the career that his father-in-law had before him and offered his daughter an apprenticeship.
“My father-in-law got me through my trade, and then I’ve been out of the trade for a while, and Sophie wanted to get into it, so we’ve got a third generation with her now,” Mr Carver said.
“To pass on a trade to family, especially to my daughter, it’s even more special, I suppose, because there are not many girls in the trade.
“When she was young, she was always building LEGO without instructions, so we knew from there she wasn’t going to be on a computer.
“When I talked to her about this, I asked if she wanted to give it a go.
“She said she would give it a go for a couple of months and see how it went. And after a couple of months, she saw the end product of what we’re doing with some of these buildings, and you could instantly see the satisfaction she’d get out of each job; then that’s what got her loving it in the end, even a couple of years later.”
Mr Carver said the support from TAFE NSW was vital in allowing his daughter to make the transition to a trade, and he encouraged teenagers who struggled at school to think about a trade path.
“TAFE has been awesome,” he said.
“I went through my TAFE down in Albury as well back in the day, and now I send all my apprentices there.
“It’s better than school for some kids, because it’s adult learning. It’s important for kids to pursue something that is worthwhile to their personal development.”
