Women are welcome but unwilling

Women seem to shy away from trade-based roles.

The number of apprentices training in Tauranga has trebled this year but none of the trades-based positions have been taken up by women.

Figures from The Skills Organisation show it has 150 trainees in Tauranga, compared with 42 in 2013. All of the trainees were men.

The trainees were doing specialist trades in electrotechnology, crane operation, plumbing, gasfitting, drainlaying and roofing. Nationally it had 5388 apprentices and only 99, or less than 2 per cent, were women.

Senior communications manager Anne-Marie Petersen said it was looking at how it could improve its engagement with women.

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic head of applied technology Malcolm Hardy said it had 110 carpentry apprentices in 2014 and none were women.

"We have only ever had one female apprentice in the 15 years we have been running the programme."

It had used women in its advertising and brochures to try and get away "from the purely male image in trades".

However, up to 50 per cent of students studying the National Diploma in Architecture were female and about 15 per cent doing the National Diploma in Construction Management and Quantity Surveying were female.

Tauranga Hardware and Plumbing director Craig McCord said it had six male apprentices.

Mr McCord, Bay of Plenty/Coromandel Master Plumbers Association president said Master Link had 130 apprentices in New Zealand and all were male.

It actively campaigned last year but there was no uptake, he said.

"I think it's not for the want of trying and maybe we could be more proactive but the biggest issue we have is the perception the trades get at some secondary schools. They are not promoting trades."

Electrical Works Ltd owner Colin Smith said there were no female electrical apprentices in the Bay. However, Mr Smith, who is also Electrical Contractors Association New Zealand Inc president, said it had 570 registered apprentices with ETCO nationwide and 12 were women.

A female would normally get a start because they were logical thinkers with methodical work skills, he said.

The association also fostered a good relationship with career advisers at schools and they hand-picked students to attend its training facility south of Auckland.

"We will take them [women] on at the drop of a hat if they meet our criteria ... and have key subjects like maths, physics and English."

Classic Builders director Peter Cooney said female painters were more common.

"The other trend has been that most women enter the industry due to having a partner or husband already working in it, as opposed to choosing it as a career path."

It contracted work to about 30 companies and "there are only two women who work in these trades," Mr Cooney said.

Tauranga Girls' College teacher Barbara Young said students were not seeing apprenticeship as a viable option.

"We field very few enquiries re trades from our girls. A kitchen manufacturing company a couple of years ago advertised for an apprentice and were keen to employ a female but no-one took this up.

"Cherrywood butchery also advertised an apprenticeship, which we tried to encourage someone to take up, but, again, no takers."