A young Cromwell builder has created a community of support for women in the trades.

Brie Cook was named Central Otago Apprentice of the Year in 2021, the year she joined Cromwell builder Brook Carr, and she will be fully qualified in November this year.

Brie has got to know other women tradies in and around Cromwell and saw that creating a 

a community of support for women in trades was something she could do.

She created ‘Constructing Community’ and put together a six-week programme for women of all ages to get into trades. 

The programme introduced women to a whole range of trades from building to welding with plumbing, driving and roading included.

The group of six now meet monthly for brunch and are coming together soon to build two child-size kitchens, designed by Brie, as a way of honing their skills. 

Brie works on a mix of reno work and new builds. PHOTO:The Central App

One of the kitchens (designed specifically for fun creations such as mud pies), has been commissioned as a Christmas gift for a lucky child and the other they will donate to a local early childhood centre.

Brie’s employer said he didn’t have to think twice about taking Brie on.

“She was three years into her apprenticeship and we were glad to have her join us,” Brook said.

Designed by Brie. IMAGE: Supplied

Brie had her sights on studying architecture when she finished college in Tauranga in 2017, but the university fees seemed insurmountable. She had enjoyed doing kitchen joinery while at school and saw taking on a builder’s apprenticeship as an affordable way to pursue her love of creating structure. 

Architecture now seems a possibility for her with the advent of the government’s Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (TTAF) introduced in 2020, and Brie is studying part-time online with the Open Polytechnic.

Trades make up on average five per cent of every country's GDP, and while women make up half of the population, they hold fewer than 12 per cent of trade jobs. 

Women in Trades, a not-for-profit organisation established six years ago, promotes trades and trades training as a viable career option to women and employers. The group hosts come and ‘give it a go’ events around the country – check here for the Christchurch event on September 27.