A Woman in the Workshop

Christchurch joiner Paul Murray says the key to a successful apprenticeship relationship is finding the right person for the job -  and gender has nothing to do with it. "It doesn't matter what the person is, whether it's a boy or a girl, a man or an elderly person, they've got to have that initial thing for it," he says.  

 

Paul has run Paul Murray's Joinery in New Brighton as a sole trader for 30 years. He suffered a massive heart attack three years ago and realised it was time to slow down and get some help. A friend of a friend said he knew of somebody looking for an apprenticeship. Paul said, "Send him in," and soon afterwards, much to his surprise, a young woman walked in the door. 

 

For three years she learned and worked as a Modern Apprentice on the wide variety of tasks required in Paul's workshop, which extends well beyond "assembly-line" joinery.  

 

Though she has since moved on to finish her apprenticeship at another joinery, Paul sees no reason why female Modern Apprentices shouldn't succeed. "It doesn't really matter. From the lifting aspect, that's the only thing, but the rest of the time they're fine, they seem to cope."

 

Since his heart attack Paul is careful about what he lifts too. "The size of things I do now, they turn out the same size but I try to break them into pieces that you can actually physically handle ... We'll assemble it here with a few screws, then pull it apart and take it into the house in kitset form and assemble it in there." 

 

Paul is a craftsman joiner whose skills extend beyond assembling kitchens - something he feels not all apprentices appreciate. He does aluminium doors and fly screens, caravan fit-outs, roller and security doors, and even the occasional bit of handcarving or tiling. 

 

"I go out and measure it all up and price it, and then it all comes back here and we start some flat sheet forms, and it gets produced into whatever the client wants, and then we take it out and install it. So it's a complete job, we do the whole thing."

 

He says it's hard to find good people, as there is definitely a skills shortage in his trade. However, he recommends having a longer trial period of perhaps two months to make sure the apprentice is suited. Getting more women into trades training is a good thing, he says, "if they're interested in it, that's the crux of the matter."