WEBVTT NOTE Machine-generated draft. Chelsea must review names, wording and timing before publication. 00:00.000 --> 00:04.440 I was depressed for like two months at the start of the year because everything 00:04.440 --> 00:05.500 started going wrong. 00:13.220 --> 00:20.320 After I left, it was so bad. I didn't know what I was going to do. I was just lost. I 00:20.320 --> 00:26.760 had my whole life set out. I was already looking at mining companies to work and 00:26.760 --> 00:30.620 finish my apprenticeship with. And I had my whole life sorted. I knew what I was 00:30.620 --> 00:35.740 going to do. I had a plan. I like sticking to my plans, but after having bad 00:35.740 --> 00:40.860 experiences and leaving that industry, I just didn't know what to do. 00:48.400 --> 00:53.840 I got into being a Sparky by... I think for a while I did really want to do a 00:53.840 --> 00:58.820 trade because I always said labouring with my dad. At the start, I really love doing 00:58.820 --> 01:03.720 new things and pushing yourself because you don't think you're able to do 01:03.720 --> 01:07.960 anything. And then you learn it and you're like, hang on, this is so complicated. And 01:07.960 --> 01:12.180 then fitting off a PowerPoint, it's the easiest thing ever. But at first you think 01:12.180 --> 01:19.440 it's so hard. On the job site, there was a bunch of chippies. And we're lifting up 01:19.440 --> 01:23.820 this big air conditioning unit. It's really heavy. And then a chippy came up to 01:23.820 --> 01:27.540 me and he touches my shoulder and he's like, babe, it's okay. I can do that for 01:27.540 --> 01:33.060 you. And I was like, no, I can do it myself. Thank you. I think one of the boys 01:33.060 --> 01:39.680 just had his mind made up about me thinking I can do anything. Probably the 01:39.680 --> 01:48.040 worst experience I've ever had is they taught me how to do everything except 01:48.040 --> 01:51.960 putting in an LED strip. And apparently that's really easy. That's what the other 01:51.960 --> 01:58.480 boys told me. So I was really excited to do that. And it was one of the boys and I 01:58.480 --> 02:02.100 was like, oh, can you show me how to do this? And he goes, it's a bit complicated. 02:02.500 --> 02:07.000 I think you understand. But you're more than welcome to sweep the house. So for 02:07.000 --> 02:09.960 seven hours, I swept a house and I cried. 02:15.180 --> 02:21.620 I would say a common occurrence would be people talking down and thinking this 02:21.620 --> 02:26.920 would be. If someone did something inappropriate, I wouldn't tell anyone. Why 02:26.920 --> 02:34.640 not? Because there's nothing they can do. Probably the first that kind of made me 02:34.640 --> 02:42.480 stop working with that company was the apprentice. Before the summer break, like 02:42.480 --> 02:47.300 Christmas break, go away for two weeks, I went to his house to pick up some air 02:47.300 --> 02:54.460 conditioning stuff for my friend because we're doing AC unit at her house. And he 02:54.460 --> 02:59.020 asked me out and he wanted to go on a date and he felt like there was a real good 02:59.020 --> 03:03.960 connection. Keep in mind, I started working there when I was about 16 and he 03:03.960 --> 03:11.080 was 25. So yeah, he did ask me out and he said that I'm really chill for my age and 03:11.080 --> 03:17.000 he finds me really attractive. And I was really uncomfortable. I've already been 03:17.000 --> 03:21.360 the odd one out picking a girl. If you make trouble, then it just makes you 03:21.360 --> 03:25.640 uncomfortable because you get the bad side of it more than the boys. They just go, 03:25.640 --> 03:32.880 oh, yeah, I'll stop doing it. But then they treat you differently. One day we 03:32.880 --> 03:38.240 were roughing in this house. So I had to pull a cable from the roof and just down. 03:38.240 --> 03:43.180 And it was the simplest thing. I can even do it. Anyone can do it. But he stood 03:43.180 --> 03:46.660 there the whole time. He's like, it's really complicated. Don't break the cable. 03:46.820 --> 03:52.540 Don't scratch the cable. And I'm like, I roughed in nine units, which is that took 03:52.540 --> 03:56.780 me a month to do. And that's just all doing that even complicated stuff like 03:56.780 --> 04:00.160 going in corners. And you have to be careful when you run cable through 04:00.160 --> 04:06.440 corners. If it nicks the cable, then that cable is from it. I think over the eight 04:06.440 --> 04:16.420 months of me working, I only saw two other girls. Makes me feel a bit like secluded 04:16.420 --> 04:17.080 and alone. 04:19.800 --> 04:24.500 A hundred percent I also saw my confidence. Like at the beginning, I'd be 04:24.500 --> 04:28.280 putting a fan up by myself and at the end, I'd also say, oh, can you just chuck four 04:28.280 --> 04:35.860 fans off? I still remember how to do that. I haven't done it in so long. I used to 04:35.860 --> 04:40.040 love it so much. Like at the start, like the first four or five months, I'd come 04:40.040 --> 04:44.820 home every day and I'd be like, Mom, Dad, like I just did an aircon unit or I just 04:44.820 --> 04:54.060 put in a fan. I'd be so scared. I'd probably just let them know that they kind 04:54.060 --> 05:02.220 of ruined my dreams in a way. Advice I'd give to younger girls or myself would 05:02.220 --> 05:10.460 probably be start your apprenticeship with a bigger company. I think if more females 05:10.460 --> 05:15.840 worked in those type of industries, then it would build up the confidence and kind 05:15.840 --> 05:23.700 of get the energy and vibes of girls working. This is going to sound silly, but 05:23.700 --> 05:29.580 I miss being able to tell people that I was an electrician because I get so like, 05:30.240 --> 05:34.260 oh my God, you're an electrician. Like that's so a girl like being in training. 05:34.500 --> 05:40.780 That's amazing. I feel like that chapter in my life is closed and I don't have any 05:40.780 --> 05:44.500 regret for starting it or finishing it. So I'm pretty happy.