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Women in trades
At TAFE Queensland we're passionate about encouraging and empowering more girls and women to consider pursuing a trade pathway.
Women seeking broader job opportunities, stable employment and hands-on careers are taking up apprenticeships and helping to fill a number of skills shortages.
TAFE Queensland is proud to work with government, industry and employers to support a pipeline of talented women and girls into careers in male-dominated trade industries.
Read about our tradie trailblazers
For Brianna Thirlwall, the road to becoming an auto electrician hasn’t been easy. But with determination – and the backing of her employer Glencore – she has not only pushed through challenges but risen to become the Female Trade Student of the Year at the TAFE Queensland 2025 Mount Isa Trade Excellence Awards.
50 young women came together at TAFE Queensland’s Townsville Trade Training Centre (Bohle) campus to explore the many opportunities available in construction, as part of the Constructing HER Career – Women in Construction event.
Zylah has found TAFE Queensland to have the perfect blend of the latest technology and traditional equipment and techniques to give her a well-rounded apprenticeship experience.
Newly qualified boilermaker Michael Koza, 37, was recognised as one of Mount Isa’s top emerging tradespeople at the TAFE Queensland 2025 Mount Isa Trade Excellence Awards, held on Thursday, 4 September 2025.
Double award-winner, new homeowner, and apprentice on the rise – 26-year-old Sarah Azzopardi is proving what’s possible with drive, skill, and a trade qualification behind you.
Sarah is excelling in her boilermaking apprenticeship, impressing her colleagues, employer, and TAFE teachers with her skills and attitude.
South Burnett’s rising star in welding, Brylie Jones, has added another accolade to her growing list of achievements. She was recently named the Harry Hauenschild Apprentice of the Year during a special ceremony for the Darling Downs and South West Region Queensland Training Awards on Friday, 1 August 2025.
Amy Stubbs will be competing for bricklaying glory when she represents Mackay on the Queensland team at the 2025 WorldSkills Australia National Championships.
Madison James leveraged her TAFE Queensland pre-apprenticeship training to secure the ongoing apprenticeship employment she's been chasing.
Breaking away from traditional career paths, husband and wife duo Jesse and Erin Bickford are rewriting the narrative —he’s a registered nurse, while she’s a skilled mechanic, proving stereotypes have no place at their dinner table.
On a 62-foot maxi yacht in the Whitsundays, Chelcie Jones faced a career-defining moment. The boat was drifting toward the rocks. The engine had failed. The pressure was on.
Malcom Russo and Samantha Symonds, students from Ingham State High School, are kickstarting their careers in the electrical industry through TAFE Queensland's Certificate II in Electrotechnology (Career Start) (UEE22020) program.
There's nothing that I can't do that the guys can do at work, and probably my biggest supporters are my workmates.
Being an apprentice was great because I was earning money as I was learning my job.
If you're thinking about pursuing a trade career, just go for it. It doesn't matter what anyone says to you, just do it. If you are really keen, people will take you on and help you out a lot.
In the future, I see myself completing my apprenticeship, being a fully qualified carpenter and maybe that will lead to me being able to teach other apprentices coming up and maybe doing a supervising job.
The thing that I love most about being a mechanic is you get new jobs every day. You get the opportunity to get a car, diagnose it, fix it and give it back to the customer.
What I like most about working in my industry is it's challenging. I enjoy the challenge.
A trade certificate is four years of your lifetime but you get a lifetime qualification. It really does open up some opportunities and doors for yourself.
Our industry connections
The National Association of Women In Construction (NAWIC) and TAFE Queensland have partnered to develop and deliver a Diversity and Inclusion Awareness program. This program aims to support male-dominated trade industries by supplying these industries with the tools to make a cultural shift.
Trades training areas
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Aged care
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Air-conditioning and refrigeration
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Allied health
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Automotive electrical technology
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Bricklaying and stonemasonry
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Baking and patisserie
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Beauty services
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Building and construction
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Building design
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Carpentry and joinery
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Civil construction
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Cookery
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Electrotechnology
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Engineering
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Hairdressing and barbering
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Heavy automotive industries
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Horticulture and landscaping
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Light automotive
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Manufacturing and design
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Motorbike and bicycle mechanics
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Painting and decorating
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Plumbing
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Printing
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Safety
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Tiling, plastering and flooring
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Travel and tourism management