{"id":4969,"date":"2025-06-23T06:30:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T06:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/?p=4969"},"modified":"2026-04-01T02:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:14:15","slug":"international-women-in-engineering-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/candidate-resources\/international-women-in-engineering-day\/","title":{"rendered":"International Women in Engineering Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet Amy Shepard \u2013 Welding & Fabrication Apprentice at WF Industries, Dubbo<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

After more than a decade working as a chef, Amy made a bold move. She swapped the kitchen for the workshop and started an apprenticeship in boilermaking. Growing up on a farm, she was always curious about machinery and how things worked, so engineering felt like a natural fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing a pile of steel turn into a massive structure is so rewarding. I\u2019ve finally found something I\u2019m passionate about.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From Kitchen to Workshop<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Switching to a trade wasn\u2019t without its challenges. Amy says the physical side of the job was tough at first, but with time, support from her team, and plenty of work in the gym, she pushed through.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoilermaking can be physically demanding. At the start, strength was a struggle, but I worked at it. There are also plenty of tools and equipment to make the job easier. You don\u2019t have to do it all on your own.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A World of Opportunity<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What\u2019s surprised her most is just how many directions a trade like this can take you.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so much variety in the work. You can stick with general fabrication or specialise in something specific. There\u2019s room to go wherever you want.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Amy\u2019s next step is to get her drafting qualifications. She\u2019s developed a real interest in mechanical drawing and design and wants to be ready for where the industry is heading.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day, I\u2019d love to mentor young tradies, especially women. I didn\u2019t see female tradies growing up and I think if I had, my path might\u2019ve looked pretty different.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Advice for Women Considering Trades<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Her message to other young women thinking about a career in engineering?<\/p>\n

\u201cFind the part that interests you. There are so many ways in: trades, uni, hands-on or technical. You don\u2019t have to fit into a box.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And when it comes to what women in trades want?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not here for special treatment. We\u2019re here because we love what we do.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On International Women in Engineering Day, we celebrate Amy\u2019s story as a reminder that it\u2019s never too late to follow your passion and make your mark.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet Amy Shepard \u2013 Welding & Fabrication Apprentice at WF Industries, Dubbo After more than a decade working as a chef, Amy made a bold move. She swapped the kitchen for the workshop and started an apprenticeship in boilermaking. Growing up on a farm, she was always curious about machinery and how things worked, so…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","footnotes":""},"categories":[57,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-candidate-resources","category-success-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4969"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6654,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4969\/revisions\/6654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/6653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}