In Queensland’s $46 billion construction industry, Caitlin ‘Kate’ Jones is a unicorn. As a female apprentice carpenter living on the Sunshine Coast, Kate is blazing a trail in a male-dominated industry.
There are less than 90 female apprentice carpenters in the state’s construction workforce of 240,000, and the Sunshine Coast has the lowest percentage of women in construction training (2%).
“It’s a blokey world for sure, but it is not terrible or terrifying to work in construction,” said the talented 25-year-old from Coolum.
Years of household repairs, deck building and DIY projects with her father had sparked a genuine love of construction and through Community Solutions Group, Kate was able to achieve her dream.
Community Solutions Group helps people find quality jobs through free vocational training. After attending a CSG information night, Kate became a rare ‘two percenter’ – a woman in a construction training course on the Sunshine Coast.
Kate was 1 of 12 candidates accepted into CSG’s Pre-Apprenticeship Program which consisted of 10-weeks study with 3-weeks placement and a Certificate I in Construction. She had to pass aptitude tests and interviews before she was given the golden call:
When I got the call, I was in the backroom just jumping up and down! It was definitely a big process but I’m happy I got in.”
The Pre-Apprenticeship Program provided the perfect foundation for Kate to obtain a Carpentry apprenticeship with a new host employer in Watermark Construction. Within eight weeks, Kate was offered a carpentry apprenticeship and is living her dream.
“Community Solutions gave me a lot of knowledge and confidence about working with tools safely that enabled me to hit the ground running.”
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