Female plumber knocked back for an apprenticeship because she was 'a distraction' to male colleagues

Beth Pike claims she was knocked back from a plumbing apprenticeship because the company believed she would 'distract' the male staff.

A woman claims she was knocked back from a plumbing apprenticeship because the company believed she would 'distract' the male staff.

Auckland mother-of-two Beth Pike said she was refused the apprenticeship despite insisting she would not come to work wearing "short shorts".

The 28-year-old went on to complete a four-year plumbing and drainlaying National Certificate elsewhere, but still gets some sexist "banter" on the job, Fairfax reported.

Pike said the comments were "fine" and "always something to laugh about" because she "gives them grief back".

"I think when you go into it you have to understand that you are working with males, don't give them anything to talk about," Pike said.

Ms Pike is juggling two young children, including a newborn baby, and said "women are just as capable as men."

She was the only woman awarded at the Apprenticeship Training Trust annual graduation ceremony in late August, taking home the Excellence in Plumbing and Drainlaying.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Pike.