On the 20 May, a small group of girls from Years 10-12 attended an excursion with Awesome Women in Construction (AWIC). We boarded the bus along with girls from Marist College Emerald and heard an inspirational story from our bus driver Greg that entertained us on our way to BMD/Bielby headquarters. Once at BMD/Bielby we experienced a morning in the life of a construction worker which included getting a breathalyser test as part of safeguarding. We nearly experienced an emergency as well due to a worker being treated in the first aid room for hurting his hand. Once the chaos settled down, we headed onto site with our pink vests and hard hats, which Ms Miller-Waugh refused to take off for the duration of the trip! At the site we witnessed processes of bridge building and why it’s important to have fencing around large holes.
After our informative trip to the construction site, we sat down for a Q&A with women who had different occupations in construction. The woman who stood out to us the most was Charlotte, who is the same age us. She managed to get a traineeship through BMD/Bielby as a labourer and enlightened us to the fact she makes almost two-thousand dollars a week; this caught all of our attention. We learnt about the diversity of gender in the industry with Charlotte being the only female labourer in the company. Female numbers in the industry are growing and we can be a part of that!
Once we finished at BMD/Bielby the bus took us to Bunnings where the jobs, and skills involved, were explained. We explored the store and what jobs are required for it to run smoothly. We witnessed paint being dyed to the perfect colour, which really excited Ms Miller-Waugh. As our trip came to an end, we reflected on the day and what other opportunities were available in construction as well as receiving some freebies.
We all agree that construction is a good opportunity for those who are passionate about STEM, designing and building structures.
Molly Deller-Smith and Lydia Johnstone
Year 10