Following this year’s International Women’s Day, the theme of which was ‘choose to challenge’, three TasWater female trainee Water Services Operators are encouraging more women to pursue roles in the industry to provide vital services to Tasmanians.
Sarah Radford, Natasha Fyfe and Alexandra Smith joined TasWater in the past two years and haven’t looked back.
“Before I started at TasWater, I was in the medical and agricultural industries, but I wanted to expand my skill set and still do something to help people – it’s been great,” Ms Radford said.
“You don’t think that you’d fit in with a bunch of men but after the first few months they become your family members – just because it’s a male-orientated area, doesn’t mean you can’t pursue it.”
Ms Fyfe said that she enjoyed working with her partner who is a plumber.
“He told me about the job at TasWater and I haven’t looked back.
“I don’t like the idea of working in an office, I like being out amongst it and in this job you’re not just in one spot, you are driving and doing physically and mentally challenging work.”
Ms Smith echoed these sentiments, saying, “What attracted me to this job was the opportunity to provide essential services to people and being out and about in Tasmania.
“It’s a beautiful place and every day is different. I have never enjoyed going to work until now and would love to see more women get into this sort of role.”
Seeing more women in the service delivery area is something Urban Network Department Manager, Jason Briggs, encourages.
“They bring diversity and a different perspective to the role. Sarah, Alex and Tash have been a real positive for the culture within our teams, they’ve been great additions,” Mr Briggs said.
While it is great to see more women in the industry, People and Safety General Manager, Cathy Cuthbertson, said TasWater is always looking to improve when it comes to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.
“We are seeing more women apply and be successful in field-based roles, but we aim to increase those numbers,” Ms Cuthbertson said.
“As part of our strategic goal, we aim to have a 50/50 gender split across all aspects of our organisation – in our offices, call centres and with our service delivery staff out in the field.”
