A quiet achiever

, Build 157

Carmen Sutton’s drive and gutsy nature have seen her overcome hurdles to become a mature-age building apprentice. These qualities were recently recognised when she took out the NAWIC Tradeswoman of the Year award.

Carman
Carman

Q. What made you want to become a builder, and what path did you take to get there?

I have always been OK at practical assignments and always wanted to build my own house. In 2006, I bought a home and started playing around with renovations and small building tasks.

In 2010, I received an Outward Bound scholarship, and after completing it, I had the courage to address the dyslexia that had plagued my learning and confidence for 38 years. I had myself assessed for learning difficulties and go t a tu tor. From there, it took 18 months of hard work to get ready for my pre-trade qualification.

I spoke with a few companies about a job when I initially looked into a building career. I got the impression they weren’t interested due to my age and gender, but one person suggested I complete the pre-trade and get back to him. So I sent my application to Aoraki Polytech in Timaru and enrolled in the pre-trade course, Certificate in Carpentry.

I graduated in December 2012, and Alister McIntosh Builders in Ashburton took me on, first for work experience and then as an apprentice builder.

Q. You won the NAWIC award for your leadership and communication skills. How would you describe these?

Towards the middle of my apprenticeship, my employer asked me where I saw myself in the building industry. He said he didn’t want labourers, he wanted qualified builders. Prior to this, I had been concentrating on learning as much as I could and not focusing on any leadership qualities.

This conversation was a huge wake-up call for me, as I realised that I needed to step up and become responsible for my work. I made a conscious choice to become more assertive and less sensitive when making decisions.

Q. Where does your drive come from? 

I’ve always been driven to build my own house. However, I believe it’s my work ethic that gets me through the difficult physical times. Also, I don’t want to let anybody down, including myself. It is really important to me that my employer and my clients are happy with the work I do.

Q. What challenges and opportunities does your job present?

Recently, my partner and I completed an extensive renovation of an old villa to help with my renovation experience during my

apprenticeship. Since completing it, I have found myself to be more confident when difficult building decisions arise. These situations highlight how far I have come yet how much I still have to learn, and this is an exciting prospect. I have always wanted to build my own house, and this is the next goal for my family.

The physical side of the job has been a challenge, yet I find it exciting to achieve and complete what the men do. I am only 162 cm tall, so this will always be a barrier for me. However, I have found ways of working smarter instead. An example of this is when applying plasterboard to ceilings. I have purchased an extension for my rattle gun, which allows more reach when screwing off.

Q. Are there any difficulties being a female in a heavily male-dominated industry?

I worked with men in my previous job as a truck driver so never found this aspect difficult and get on well with my work colleagues. I have only experienced one occasion when a contractor treated me with disrespect, and that was at the beginning of my career. I have found as a supervisor I need to be more assertive around the younger apprentices and believe that sometimes this is because of my gender.

It would be nice to see more women in the trades. Maybe employers need to start giving more women the opportunity. We are just as capable, and we all have our strengths and weaknesses and can find ways around these.

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Carman
Carman

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