Angel has just over a year left in her plumbing apprenticeship. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
For most of her life, Angel Bielefeld expected to take on a career in childcare.
Once she completed her schooling she set on that path – unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what she imagined.
With little pay and the feeling she was bringing her work home with her, Angel decided on a new path. Now, a couple of years later, Angel is a 22-year-old, second-year apprentice plumber with not one regret.
“When I was doing the childcare course, I enjoyed it, but the pay and the work weren’t what I was hoping they would be,” she said.
“I was bringing work back with me, and home wasn’t feeling like home. It was beginning to feel like an office. I knew that I needed to do something different, something a bit more hands-on, and I decided on either tiling, plastering or plumbing.
“Unfortunately, no one at the time was looking for an apprentice tiler, so I decided to branch out into plumbing.”
Since beginning her apprenticeship, Angel said she had learnt a lot on the job and during her TAFE NSW workshops each Wednesday.
She said there were easy days and hard days, but despite the difficult times, she was enjoying every part of her new career.
“You have your difficult days and all that stuff, but like everything, there’s always a learning curve,” she said.
“You learn from your mistakes, which, when you are learning, are bound to happen because everything’s so different.
“At TAFE specifically, all the teachers and educators have their own techniques and ideas. So for me, I learn a bit from everyone and see what works best for me. It helps make things easier when I’m on the job to do things more effectively.”
Angel detailed one of the more stressful days on the job that involved moving a tree out of the way of a pipe she had cleaned the day before.
“I dug up the tree and was about to cut the pipe, and there just so happened to be a gas line right underneath it,” she said.
“It shouldn’t have been there, but unfortunately, when I was cutting through the pipe, I hit it. I had to call the gas company to come fix it.”
She admitted that at the time, she was very nervous about the incident, but she could laugh about it now.
“Every day is different,” she said, laughing. “For me, it just so happened to be a very stressful day on that day.”
While Angel has enjoyed her time as a trainee plumber, she said there is still a bit to be done when it comes to introducing women to trades and allowing them to shine.
“I found it really hard to get an apprenticeship,” she said.
“I would really like to see more opportunities for females in trades from that perspective.
“It’s great once we’ve got the position and are doing all the workshops at TAFE, but you need to be able to get the apprenticeship first.
“The industry is still definitely male-dominated, and sometimes people calling us out on jobs tend to feel more comfortable speaking to a male. I’d really like to see more women take on a trade so we can change that perspective.”
Angel is set to complete her Cert III in Plumbing and Services before starting her Cert IV in the new year.
