Telling Danica Te Huia she is doing a man's job is like water off a duck's back.
"It often crops up when people ask me what I do," she says. "But I don't look at it like that. I'm proud about it and see it as a way to gain knowledge and learn more about engineering - and besides I'm too busy with my family, work and study to worry what others say."
Te Huia - a 38 year-old mother and grandmother - works at Axiam Metals in Whanganui where she is three months into a four-year apprenticeship in mechanical engineering, a step she bravely took after four years on the company's assembly line.
The only woman in a team of four apprentices, her story comes as work-based training organisation Competenz says women make up only 14 per cent of apprentices and trainees across the 37 trades sectors it promotes - albeit a figure higher than the national average of 12 per cent.
Competenz General Manager Employer and Learner Services, Toni Christie, says at a time when a tremendous amount of work needs to be done to encourage more women into a trades career, Te Huia is an inspiration. "She is an example of a woman who has gone from the ground up in engineering to a position in robotics producing surgical grade product.
"Now is a good time for women to consider a career in engineering because with robotics and automation we need new skills where gender has no influence."
Before joining Axiam, Te Huia made her own jewellery which she sold on Saturdays at the Whanganui Market. When a friend put her name forward for a vacancy at Axiam ("because he thought I might like to work with metal"), her life changed.
Axiam manufactures complex components in plastic and metal for local and international markets and after beginning her new career on the company's assembly line Te Huia put her jewellery business on the back-burner.
After four years in that role her bosses approached her with an opportunity to train as a machine operator with responsibility for setting up programmes on the CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine.
Considerate of how this would impact her family, Te Huia talked it over with them and her partner: "I wanted to see how they felt because it meant I would have to do lots of study after hours. I've got three children and a six-month-old granddaughter living under the same roof and I needed to know they were okay with it.
"They were really supportive and for me they are a blessing. After a hard day's work I get home and see my granddaughter who is all smiles."
After making the decision to take on the apprenticeship Te Huia began her training with online classes run by Competenz who promote work-based training for 37 industries including manufacturing, engineering, forestry and food and beverage.
Most of her learning is on-the-job, Te Huia says, and Competenz offers additional instruction online and provides access to a private tutor where necessary.
"We've got a great team at work and they are always willing to help," she says.
"Engineering has a wide variety of aspects; I didn't realise that until I started studying. Once I've completed my apprenticeship I would like to step up my knowledge and maybe study tool making because the more I learn, the more I want to progress."
Christie says employers in manufacturing and engineering are experiencing significant skilled labour shortages and the best thing they can do is invest in helping talented staff and school leavers become capable and skilled in their businesses.
"It's great to see people like her (Te Huia) with a real 'get up and go' attitude and to be able to support them with world-class training."
Despite this Christie says there still can be barriers to women wanting a trades career. "I believe the biggest is the opinion held by many that the trades are for men and the lack of knowledge about the opportunities that exist for women.
"There is now real opportunity for more employers to be willing to create suitable working environments for women as often women feel they must adapt to the male-dominated culture that exists in a business."
A 2021 study conducted by research firm Scarletti and commissioned by the Ministry for Women and Ako Aotearoa, shows 24,000 women are employed in the trades sector in New Zealand although they occupy just three per cent of actual trades roles.
The study also shows more than half of women remain in an industry related to their training after 10 years and they are a safer pair of hands, making three times fewer ACC claims than their male counterparts.
Competenz helps you train for the skills you need. To get started visit: www.competenz.org.nz/
Competenz recently transferred to Te Pūkenga, the organisation established to bring together 16 Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics, and 9 Industry Training Organisations (ITOs) in New Zealand.
Te Pūkenga is transforming how on-the-job training will be delivered. By creating a network of work-based, on-campus and online learning opportunities, learners will have more choice and flexibility in what, where and how they learn. For employers this will translate into better pathways to upskill their staff with valuable qualifications.