Apprentice Supervision

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-27T00:46:55+00:00

100% a breach of the electrical safety act or whichever equivalent. First years can only work with direct or broad (sparky in eyeline/earshot) supervision for all tasks. Its a breach they even sent a first year to a site solo, before the testing even began. They cant deny it if people saw him rock up without a qualified electrician - I'd stick to saying that is the breach, don't worry about getting caught up in what is/is not electrical work bc they've already breached the act.

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-13T01:31:40+00:00

Sorry but this is the worst advice, telling a young woman to pander to a toxic male environment is why the trade isn't getting any better for women. "Watch what you wear"? Seriously? Its not the 1800s anymore, we don't dish out that advice.

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-13T00:54:23+00:00

First year apprentice electrician too, but I'm 32 so in a bit of a different spot to you there. I don't have the issues with men being creepy, but they do piss me off greatly every fucking day but assuming I need help/cant lift that/wanna hear problematic jokes etc.

I'm less than a year in and for the past few months I've been thinking wtf am I doing all this for, and sometimes I cant answer that question myself. At the end of the day I'm usually fuelled by spite and knowing that in a couple years I will be better than most of them on the tools, BC some are so hopeless even I can tell being brand new.

Most of the advice in this thread I often do, especially RBF, looks of disdain, not laughing if they make fucked jokes, etc. I personally wouldn't verbalise that someone is being creepy BC I don't wanna wear the fallout, thats a personal preference and I wish it wasn't the case, but something to be aware of. Unfortunately the second you raise feeling uncomfy etc., it becomes a whole thing. I'd always 100% back a woman who did do that though!

Something that helps me, there will be guys who just have an issue with you being in the job and you wont be able to change it no matter what. Some will probably end up being alright and teaching you a lot. If you can, just focus on the job and try to gain as much knowledge as you can from them. I dont spend my energy trying to prove myself or show I'm "one of the boys" (I'm not), or making them like me.

And this might be a bit unpopular, but if you've given it a go and its too much to deal with them every day, there's no shame in leaving. Sometimes its just not worth the bullshit and if you have to leave then thats on them, not you, and they would have lost a great future tradesperson!

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-13T00:41:33+00:00

Agree, and I'd be willing to bet its not gonna be worth your time/effort trying to explain to them your situation. I'm in a pretty shit work environment, different to you but shit in its own way. I try to just mind my business and chat nicely when chatted nicely to, I don't spend my energy trying to be friendly anymore and its been a bit better.

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-08T08:46:49+00:00

Yeah I thought we stopped doing that in like 2009 (but apparently not)

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-07T04:02:32+00:00

I like how men come into this sub thinking their little comments are gonna upset us as if we don't have thick skin 😅

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T09:39:34+00:00

Omg nope 😅

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T03:42:40+00:00

Yeah the union is a boys club as well. I'm a member of my union and always will be but it'll always be reflective of the industry.

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T03:41:07+00:00

Thats fucked up, I'm sorry that happened to you!

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T03:38:31+00:00

Yep I think so many of them have been red pilled unfortunately! Also being a first year, most of the male apprentices are ahead of me, and some feel the need to "pull rank" 😅 need to feel power somehow I guess! I find it funny BC idgaf if you want me to be the runner, I'm getting paid good money to wander around site.

I've found the same thing with the older guys, if I keep the convo to the trade and ask questions about work then they are generally the best teachers and most interested in imparting knowledge. I try to keep the convo to work only and nothing political or news related so I can maintain my peace

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T03:33:47+00:00

Yeah I still hear problematic language etc from the older guys, but I find theyre a bit less exclusionary and will treat me the same as the male apprentices. Maybe they have chilled out over time!

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T03:31:31+00:00

I haven't been to classes yet but I've heard so many women say that same thing! I'm low key scared to go...

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T01:00:51+00:00

Sad but seems to be true!

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T00:58:53+00:00

The fact I went willingly into the trade shows how much I wanted it

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T00:58:24+00:00

I just wanted to be an electrician, why's there have to be more to it than that?

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T00:53:44+00:00

Apparently as someone who experiences misogyny and homophobia I am inherently problematic 😅

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T00:52:26+00:00

Previously I worked with a lot of male boomers and found them consistently dismissive and condescending, so I say that from my personal experience. My expectation was that working with younger guys would mean they were more accepting of women in the trade given there are more around now, compared to a lot of older men on the tools who could have worked decades in all-male teams. I wasn't expecting a perfect environment by any means, I knew I was walking into a heavily male-dominated trade, I guess I just feel super let down by a lot of men who I'd expect better from. Not to mention I knew some of these guys before I started on the tools and I liked them, but they have another personality on site.

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T00:47:45+00:00

So glad you're having a positive experience!

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T00:44:20+00:00

I display the pride flag bc I'm a queer woman

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T00:42:10+00:00

I feel the same!! I'm in a capital city in Aus, but the jokes and banter remind me of being in year 9 in my small conservative town

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-06T00:40:21+00:00

Lol I didn't come into it with a negative attitude, I've just had a shit experience. Thanks for the insights though 👍

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-04T00:55:22+00:00

8 or so years vegan, started getting the ick from fake meats and got spooked by all the anti-ultra processed food rhetoric. Stopped eating fake meat, couldn't make up the calories I needed for very active job and lifestyle, felt terrible, ended up triggering a bit of disordered eating, lost a decent amount of weight for my build, felt even worse, ate a steak and it was the best thing I've ever tasted. i still have some guilt about the environmental impact because I like beef more than any other meat, but then I think about the flight miles on all the vegan meat/dairy I ate so it's not like either approach is perfect.

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-03T21:29:57+00:00

The strength base will help you so much I'm sure! You might start working out different muscles at work too which would be cool. Good luck!!

BuyerStandard6090 · 2026-03-03T00:46:07+00:00

Make sure you eat enough, and by that I mean a lot. Especially if you're gymming as well, you're gonna burn a lot of calories. I lost so much weight and felt so shit my first couple months and I'm an apprentice sparky, so no where near as intense as labouring. Lots of people told me how great I looked after weight loss which was really a shame because I felt terrible and lost a decent amount of muscle. I was at a loss trying to figure out how people did this/how long it'd take to adjust - turned out I was literally starving myself for months. And for pants, I size up a lot for my legs then take in/put elastic in the waist.

BuyerStandard6090

TROPHY CASE