On International Women’s Day 2021, SBHA Plumber Kerry wants to encourage more women into trades.
Women in trades are still in the minority. However, that’s something that plumber and gas fitter Kerry Wilkinson is keen to see change. Kerry is a fully qualified gas engineer with SBHA, having gained her gas safety qualification from Borders College in late 2018. Before Covid, Kerry was part of our team who went into local schools to demonstrate various trades and promote the opportunities available to our next generation of workers. We caught up with Kerry to learn more about her experiences and what she’s doing to help redress the gender balance.
What made you decide that you wanted to get into plumbing?
Truthfully? Because I couldn’t be a helicopter pilot! I was part of the Air Training Corp., and I went to places like RAF Leuchars, and went up in aircraft, but this was the nineties and at that time women were being told that they couldn’t go to war. My Dad was a plasterer, and I used to accompany him on jobs and sometimes helped him out as I got older. I thought I could maybe do something in construction. I was at Borders College one day, and they asked if anyone would like to be a plumber, and I decided that this was something I could be interested in.
How easy was it for you to get an apprenticeship?
Not very. It took me four years, and then it was only through a contact of my Dad’s. By then, I was already two years into my college course. I would phone places up, and they would initially be interested, and say “Your son can start on Monday..”, then as soon as I said that it was actually for me, it was suddenly “Sorry, we don’t have anything.” People just found the idea of a woman plumber really alien.
Do you remember your first job?
I was doing work experience at John Scott’s, and was sent on a job to Gala Academy to deal with a blocked drain. Lee Dobson, the owner at Scott’s, said to me: “If you can sort out that drain and then still eat your lunch, then you’ll be a plumber”. And I did it – proved I had the stomach for it!
Have you come up against much prejudice?
Some – some older people who have been in the trade for a long time think that you can’t do it. When I started, some of them tested me, in a way that the men weren’t being tested. Younger folk tend to be a bit more accepting. Sometimes people don’t know how to react – your team don’t know how far they can go. I think we’re chipping away at that, bit by bit. It’s just breaking the mould.
How do customers react to you?
I find that single mothers, people on their own, elderly people or those who are a bit more vulnerable, they seem to like me. They seem to be a bit more at ease with the idea of having a woman in the house. I have done a bit of work in women’s shelters, and for some of them the idea of a male tradesman coming in was really worrying. They would instantly relax when I walked through the door.
How has SBHA supported you?
Really well. They have been very keen to get me out and about when we do our schools visits, careers fairs, things like that, pre-Covid. They very much support the idea that we need to break down the barriers that are stopping girls from considering certain careers. I think it’s particularly important to talk to young people before they get to high school age, before ideas about what men do and women do become fixed.
Do you think it’s important to get more women into trades? Why?
We used to do them! During the world wars there were women working in factories, making things, and in all trades. Then when the men came back from the front, women were pushed back into their old roles. But women did all these jobs, they were capable of doing them.
I’m very much someone who wants to be different – if someone tells me I can’t do something, I see that as a challenge.
In all the time I’ve been working, I’ve only ever worked with two other female tradespeople – a leckie and a painter.
What advice would you give to other girls / women thinking of becoming plumbers?
Keep at it! Stick in at school – try and get some good grades.
Try and get some work experience to figure out what part of it you would like to do – there are gas fitters, maintenance, various different things. I got work experience alongside plumbers at the BGH while I was still at school, which was probably in my mind when I was asked at college whether I was interested in plumbing.
Even if there are challenges, don’t write yourself off. I have quite severe dyslexia, but I was quite open about this and about needing some supports in place. The school supported me with a scribe, and the exam results I got were ok. At college as well – I was determined to do as much as I could by myself, but they made it clear that I could go to them if I needed help. I didn’t let dyslexia stand in my way.
Plumbing isn’t just fixing pipes – there is a real opportunity to interact with people, to help people. Quite often people who are really struggling won’t let anyone into their homes – but they will let a tradesperson in. You can be the first step in a person getting the help they need.
International Women’s Day 2021