Master Builders: Thanks for talking with us. Can we start with how you each got into the construction industry?
Haylee: My papa is a builder and when I was growing up, my mum used to take me to his sites. It was the coolest thing, seeing people build these beautiful, amazing houses. After high school, I fell into an apprenticeship through my gap year and have loved the industry ever since. I'm in a project management role now, not on the tools anymore.
Jess: In high school I was an academic person and I was going to go to uni. But I decided to take a gap year – then the next year was COVID. During that time, I worked with my dad, helping him build his house, and I found I enjoyed it!
I wanted to pursue ski instructing too though, so I moved to a little town near Mount Ruapehu. I did three days ski instructing, four days in a building apprenticeship. I got more and more into building work and saw the places it could lead. I’m now the foreman of a site.
Liv: I'm a country girl who loves being hands-on – I hated school, didn't want to go to uni. There were lots of other opportunities. I found a jobs adviser who said, I've got a builder who lives around the corner who's looking for a female apprentice. I spent one day with him and have been there ever since.
Sophia: I got into the industry because my husband's a builder – and our son is a qualified LBP as well. I work more on managing the business, and making sure our team has what they need to do their jobs well. I love to encourage the young ones and see them learn and grow. Giving back is important to me.
MB: Are there challenges you’ve faced, and how have you dealt with them?
Haylee: I've always played sports, but when I started my apprenticeship, I was relatively unfit. I tried to get into the gym more and focus on my nutrition. You don't need to be the strongest person, but there is some strength required.
If you're not able to match the boys, it's very easy to get judged. Even in my project management role, people question my background. You need to have someone to talk to about those things.
Jess: You do need to be physically fit to a certain point. It goes both ways, for guys and girls. You’ve got to be suited to the role.
Sophia: It's not without its challenges, being a woman in the industry. Sometimes you don't always feel like you're taken very seriously.
It helps to understand what's normal and what's not too. Because if you're not talking to others, you might not realise that how you've been treated is quite bad, or it might be the opposite way as well.
Liv: I’ve had ups and downs, and my apprenticeship dragged on me. I didn't want to finish it. I saw the Apprentice of the Year opportunity and felt I needed to push myself. In the past year, I’ve gained so much confidence.
There’s definitely the physical side as well – not eating too many chicken and chips for lunch!
I've also got a disability – I'm profoundly deaf. It's been a bit different as well, being female. But it doesn't define who I am. I want to be in the industry, I love it. And I actually just got qualified.
MB: Do competitions like Apprentice of the Year have a part to play?
Haylee: It can show that women are just as good at the job, if not better in some regards.
Sophia: And it shows they are serious about what they do. That they should be taken seriously.
MB: What would you say to encourage other women looking to enter Apprentice of the Year?
Haylee: The confidence you'll gain from it is unmatched to anything else. Whether you win a spot or anything like that, it's just putting yourself out there. And it's fun, and you gain friends from it as well.
Sophia: Don't get hung up on the old imposter syndrome. Even I can get caught up in that at my age. It's so easy to doubt ourselves. Usually it comes on when we are tackling something new. You learn so much through the process. Do your best and enjoy the journey.
Jess: You've honestly just got nothing to lose. The experience in itself is worth it 100 times.
Liv: Yeah, just give the competition your best. If you encourage yourself to do it, you will be inspiring others as well.
Haylee: Jess was actually the one that inspired me to enter. So yeah, every girl that enters is inspiring another girl to go ahead and do it.