Bricklayer Hannah Bramble appreciates the variety in her responsibilities. ‘As a bricklayer, my schedule changes from day to day,’ Hannah says. ‘If we’re on a big job putting up a house I can be on the wall, laying bricks or blocks all day. We can also be placed on smaller jobs with existing structures where we replace old bricks and add or fill in doorways or windows,’ she continues. 

‘This is why enjoy my work so much, each day looks different. I don’t find myself lamenting over the days’ monotony. I also prefer working outdoors in the sun and the hours are quite reasonable,’ she adds.

Hannah pursued bricklaying as a career ‘on a whim.’ She did not know any tradies and had no experience working with her hands. ‘I was at a loss career-wise. Bricklaying seemed the exact opposite of everything I’d done before,’ she muses. ‘After seeing a video on TikTok of someone laying bricks, I contacted my local TAFE to start a pre-apprenticeship. Four years later, I’m yet to look back,’ she smiles.

Hannah’s advice for females interested in a career in the trades:

Make sure to have at least one person or organisation (your TAFE, a teacher) on your side looking out for you. You want someone who can find you a good employer that will pay you what you’re worth (weekend and overtime penalties) and maintains safe work practices (no dodgy scaffolding or grinders without guards!) You also want to make sure you can find, or be put in contact with someone, who you can take any concerns to who’ll take them seriously. Back yourself through the people around you. 

A good mentor will do you wonders. Learn as much as you can from them whenever you can.

When things start feeling really hard, or like you’re out of your depth, try to remember that others may not necessarily be better at this than you. They’ve just been doing this longer. Remind yourself that these skills take time to build.