Vicky, Nikki and Emily

As we all know, the mining industry is screaming for more skilled workers. This time however, more and more women are starting up the angle grinders in a bid to cut a decent slice of the lucrative mining pie.

Leading the charge is local company, Dawsons Engineering, “Its so important to provide opportunities for women within our own workplace before we look elsewhere for them” says Sharon Dawson, Marketing and Labour Hire Manager. Dawsons places women in a range of different jobs, from administration and drafting to trades and labouring. Of course, having several women on the Executive Management Team helps the trend along as well.

Nikki Dawson (yes, a daughter-in-law) holds the role of Civil Construction Draftsperson within the Cairns office. Nikki is primarily responsible for client steel detailing and construction drawings. “With construction, its really important to keep our customers in the loop and deliver a finished product that exceeds their expectations where possible. Knowing that I have the full support of the business to deliver this objective just makes the job that much easier”. Nicky also deals with Vicky Torrisi, one of Dawsons’ female labourers, on construction and demolition job sites.

Vicky has been with the company for over two years and is a crucial member of the Demolition and Asbestos Removal Team. Vicky is in the process of gaining her ‘A’ Class Licence to enable her to become the Foreman at asbestos or demolition worksites. While Nicki and Vicky are flying the flag for women on worksites, Emily Wilson is training hard in Dawsons’ heavy engineering workshop for her boiler-making apprenticeship.

Emily has just finished her pre-vocational training and will be heading to the Townsville workshop for more training. What does Emily think of the whole situation? “I’ve dabbled in a few things over the years and …boiler-making is something I’ve found I’m happy to work hard for in order to reap the long term rewards. Dawsons is making that happen for me”.