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What’s It Like to Be is a fortnightly column in which New Zealanders from all walks of life share first-hand experiences. Here, Samara Robson-Beard, 22, talks with Paulette Crowley about being a female apprentice in the male-dominated mechanical engineering sector and why she wishes more women were taking up a trade.
I finished school in 2020 and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next. I knew I didn’t want to go to university - it didn’t gel with me. I never really liked school that much because I’m not very good at sitting down and studying for eight hours a day. I just don’t like the structure of it.
I knew I probably wanted to work in some sort of trade but started off in a retail job before doing some work with my dad, who’s a heavy fabrication engineer. They build structures and fix heavy equipment. We worked on a film set for eight months. I helped out the tradesmen and was allowed to weld things like art-style sculptures for the film sets. These welds weren’t structural, so it was acceptable for someone to learn and practise on.
I thought that job was going to be a place filler until I figured out what I wanted to do but I ended up really enjoying engineering. It was an amazing experience. That’s when I decided to get a trade qualification in mechanical engineering, which covers fitting and turning, welding and fabrication and hydraulics.
You need an employer and an education provider to get started on an apprenticeship.
I contacted a host company - Active Engineering in Auckland - which decided to take me on and put me through the Apprentice Training New Zealand (ATNZ) engineering scheme. I did it kind of backwards - usually, the education provider will employ you and find you a host company.
That was three years ago. I’m 22 now and I’ve nearly finished my apprenticeship, which usually takes about four years to complete. My first year of work included shadowing tradesmen in the machine shop, cleaning up, pick-ups and drop-offs, and machining simple components, like pins. My second year was about getting some more responsibility with slightly harder, more technical jobs.
This year, I’ve moved out to the line boring bay and worked on heavy machinery like excavators. I also got to work on some super yachts. It’s a very versatile company and I’m lucky to have such diversity in my work.
It’s different for everyone but I started off doing about five-to-six hours of study a week. You work at your own pace and there’s no deadline for when you have to have anything finished. Most of the study is online but there are “on job” projects which are more specifically related to what you are doing at work. So for those, you have to provide physical evidence of what you’ve made.
An ATNZ agent comes out to the workplace every month to help with your paperwork. They also look after your wellbeing and keep an eye on things to see how you’re going. There’s no pressure on when you should finish but your account manager will still set goals so you can finish your apprenticeship in four years, rather than set a specific deadline.
There’s a bit of stress involved with the study but you’re in charge, so you put pressure on yourself. This has worked a lot better for me rather than having someone tell me what to do and when to finish - I’ll always be less inclined to do something then. Now, because I have my own way of doing things, I can chop through quite quickly.
I should be on track to finishing my papers soon. Basically, you’ve got to get about 280 credits and do 8000 hours of work. Once I’ve finished my apprenticeship I’m looking at doing an advanced trade. I hope to become a very skilled engineer. Maybe I’ll open my own business one day.
One of the things I love about being an apprentice is being able to work and learn at the same time. You do start out earning less, but you have opportunities to earn more as you get your credits if your work is good. My trade qualifies for the government’s Fees Free programme, which means I don’t have any student debt.
My work culture is another thing I love about my apprenticeship. I also like that it’s pretty low stress and you get to become close mates with everyone you’re working with. And I have learned so much from being able to work with my hands. The theory part of mechanical engineering is still a lot more than some other trades but because I’m doing it physically, I have more knowledge from that and it’s made it a lot easier.
I would recommend doing an apprenticeship, for sure. I also think girls need to be encouraged into the trades more. Obviously, my trade is male-dominated but having more women coming into it would be amazing. I went to an all-girls’ school and, nothing against them, but they didn’t really offer trades as an option. It was all very uni-focused and uni’s not for everyone.
