Give Girls a Go

Contract signwriter Melissa Watts, 38, finds her trade allows her to fit her work around her life rather than the other way round. A signwriter for 22 years, Melissa has been able to take time off to have children and return to the workforce. Now that her son Sean is eleven years old and daughter Alice is aged four, Melissa works part-time at two Hawke's Bay companies to fit around family demands. 

 

Most of her employers have been really fantastic about her working hours, Melissa says. "Generally speaking because I'm reliable and a competent signwriter, they've allowed me to dictate the terms to a certain degree."

 

She has tried a few different ways of fitting work and family. "Because I'm contracting now I don't have fixed hours. Whereas when I was in Auckland and had Sean I worked regular part time hours. I was on wages then but now I invoice the companies I contract to on a regular basis. I'm basically my own boss," she says. 

 

Currently she contracts out for $20 an hour, two days a week with CSM Signs in Hastings, and one or two days a week for Sign It Up in Napier. 

 

Owning your own business is where the big money is for the signwriting trade, she says. She hasn't wanted to do that, saying she is focussing on her family for now. "I like the flexibility of working for someone, without too much stress. But there's nothing to stop women in the trade owning their own company, and several do. Certainly if they have a bit of 'nous', talent and managerial skills, then there's no reason why not!"

 

 The mostly male work environment doesn't faze Melissa, though she cautions that it is no place for prudes. "You know, it's just, "Be one of the boys" to a degree or not fit in. I'm probably as bad as the rest of them, as far as giving what I get."  It's an environment where women have to learn to stand up for themselves, but once they do, it can be fun, she says. 

 

Being female has never held Melissa back in her career. She started her apprenticeship 22 years ago, when female signwriters were even more of a rarity than they are now. Fresh out of school and with some good school reports and artwork to show for it, she applied for a signwriting apprenticeship in Feilding. "My employer at the time said, 'You've got all the qualifications we want, the only difference is that you're a woman. I can't think of a reason why that should make a difference so I think we'll 'give a girl a go'."