Celebrating the Women in our Team for International Women's Day!

4 March 2021

The Alykan team is so lucky to have some wonderful women in our team. One of them is one of our apprentices. For International Women's Day, we took the opportunity to chat to Alexis about her thoughts on diversity and representation in the trades industry.

First, a quickfire get-to-know-you:

When did you start with Alykan?
Late September 2019.

What's been your favourite site?
A Collins Street job, where I got to work with the whole team.

What's your electrical superpower?
Matt (A-Grade): She's great at fitting off GPO's!

What's your ultimate smoko snack?
Ham and cheese toasties.

When did you choose to become an electrician?
I chose to become an electrician during school in 2018, I didn’t become an apprentice until end of 2019. I did some experience with other trades, but I found it difficult to find an electrical company taking on school based apprentices. When the opportunity of doing a work trial came through for Alykan electrical I was more than excited and it was a tough time for me during the trial, but the company always found a way to make things work. Working with this lovely bunch of people, doing a range of different electrical work has been the best experience.

Do you think there’s a stereotype attached to female tradies?
Yes, unfortunately it can be pretty common. It is unfair and unnecessary. I’ve never personally felt attacked or as if I’ve been treated differently due to my gender but it definitely does happen to some women. I think this generation and older generations need to be more open minded and treat everyone as equals.

How Important is it for women to lift each other up and what does that mean to you?
It's imperative that women stand up for fellow women. It's absolutely crucial to rally for each other and be a support system, to bring one another up and become our best selves. We must stand up for each other, when we feel as if we’re being treated differently or find it hard to communicate with the guys. It doesn’t mean you can’t give it a go though, we should all lift each other up and stand for our rights as a team, not as individuals.

In your opinion, why is it more important that more women take up a trade in the near future?
I believe it is imperative for more women to join trades to overcome gender norms. Doing this will set a tone for it to be more appealing for anyone to be in a trade.

What’s the most important piece of advice you’d give to a women thinking of starting a career in the trades?
My advice would be to stand your ground, be unapologetically yourself. We are all unique in our own ways, but we’re also equals to everyone around us.