Construction sites traditionally have been the field of men, but with good money available and an industry labour shortage, more and more women are choosing trades as careers.
19-year old Amanda Watt, for example, has worked as a plaster renderer with Oakley Solid Plastering for almost two years, and tells "I got into it because a (male) friend was working on a site in Port Douglas."
She says, "At the time I was working as a receptionist with an accountancy firm and was looking at accountancy as a career. My friends think I'm crazy but they also think it's great and there's no trouble working with the boys.''
Miss Watt is looking forward to a long career in rendering and aims to become fully qualified in just over two years.
Her boss, Col Oakley, was surprised when she approached him for a job, but he liked to give everyone a chance. "She is definitely pulling her weight, in fact I could do with a few more like her,'' he said.
Master Builders Association far-northern regional manager Ron Bannah said women were definitely becoming more involved in conventionally male dominated industries like construction.
"This year through TAFE and Construction Skills Queensland we've introduced 15 female apprentice electricians into the industry locally,'' he said.
Mr Bannah said he'd heard of a local plumbing business receiving 60 applications for apprenticeships and all of them came from women.
"We have more and more women entering the industry each year and the apprenticeship of the year for Queensland recently was female,'' said Mr Bannah.
Housing Industry Association (HIA) North Queensland manager John Futer said the number of women in trades had increased, but there should be more.
"We believe we have tapped into about half of our potential work force so I think it's great news more women are choosing trades,'' he said. "The Australian technical colleges have helped, as some women feel more comfortable learning in this environment than with an apprenticeship.''
