{"id":27714,"date":"2021-02-10T10:52:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T10:52:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=27714"},"modified":"2021-02-10T11:58:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T11:58:43","slug":"its-never-too-late-to-make-a-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=27714","title":{"rendered":"‘It’s never too late to make a change’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n\n

During National Apprentices Week this week, many people may be wondering if an apprenticeship in skilled trades is right for them. Maybe they think if they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t under 25 — or if they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t men — they shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Unite member and apprentice Stacey Sowden, 33, has shown that you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t put apprentices in any box \u00e2\u20ac\u201c with a bit of hard work and determination, anyone can succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before starting her apprenticeship last year in Steel Fixing at Hinckley Point C, Europe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest construction site, Stacey had a full-fledged career in warehousing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several years ago, she completed a Level 3 NVQ in Management, which helped propel her into the role of warehouse manager for a catering suppliers firm. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d also done some warehousing work at Legoland as well as a bit of football coaching, all while also embracing her new role as mum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after seven years in warehousing, Stacey wanted to try her talents elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI started to fall out of love with warehousing,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she told UniteLIVE. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go any further. I was managing and I just wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t very happy. A friend I went to school with who works at Hinckley Point C shared an article about females in construction. I sent him a message asking if he thought it was something I could be good at. And he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098I think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be brilliant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. He sent me the link, and I applied for it, and here I am!\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stacey is due to finish her Level 2 NVQ and Diploma Steel Fixing apprenticeship later this year and said she couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be happier with all the skills she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s learned so far.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much opportunity to learn,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Stacey explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just learn the trade, you get your working at heights ticket, your manual handling ticket, you get your CSCS card, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trained to use power tools and so much more. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more than what meets the eye. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always more that you can progress to if you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hopefully going to do both first aid and mental health first aid as well. So it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just the fact that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get an NVQ in Steel Fixing at the end of the apprenticeship. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of life skills you can get from it too. Obviously first aid is one, but even something like manual handling \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re moving house, knowing how to pick something up correctly is really valuable. These are all transferable skills.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stacey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard work and can-do attitude has earned her serious accolades after she won the Hinckley Point C (HPC) Rising Star award in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI was quite emotional at the acceptance ceremony,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI nearly broke down just because I was so shocked to win it. I got nominated by a guy on my platform and then I got invited to the ceremony at Hinckley Campus. I was fortunate enough to win the award and since then I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve received quite a lot of recognition. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just really nice to know that even though I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m slightly older than the average apprentice, I can still work hard and that hard work pays off.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stacey urges others who might be thinking of taking on an apprenticeship to not let stereotypes hold them back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be put out by the stereotype that construction is for men,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bYes, stereotypically it is more of a male environment but if you work hard, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter who you are or where you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re from, you can achieve the same standards. I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an important message for any female who wants to get into construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSometimes you may even have to work a little bit harder than the men. Other times, your knowledge and your expertise can help someone else out. But the opportunities are there \u00e2\u20ac\u201c no matter who you are. And they are all perfectly achievable.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stacey also encourages those who might be a bit older than the average apprentice to go for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s never too late,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I said to myself \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s never too late to make a change. But you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect that change to be handed out to you on a platter. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to go out and get it, and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to work hard, whether that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in construction or accounting or any other field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bObviously the older you are the harder it is to get up in the morning and things like that. You might have children or other obligations that you might not have had when you were younger,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Stacey, a mother of five-year-old twins and a nine-year-old daughter, added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut you find a way to make it work — especially if that is your choice, if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re passionate about doing.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As ever, Stacey continues to set her sights high, hoping to qualify and get her white hat this year. Looking to the future, she also wants become a supervisor in her trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAt present, there are no female supervisors who work in the trade. There are women supervisors in other areas, but there are no women out on the ground. That would be my target \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to be one of the first female supervisors, if not the first ever female supervisor, actually out on the tools in a skilled trade environment.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever their goals may be, Stacey urges would-be apprentices to join a union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat sense of togetherness is so important,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf you have a problem, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always somebody who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got your back. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just nice to know that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a support network if there are questions that you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the answers to; if there are situations where you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need some assistance, say if your pay is not right. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in the union, all of us are together fighting for the same thing. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re never on your own.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Hajera Blagg<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During National Apprentices Week this week, many people may be wondering if an apprenticeship in skilled trades is right for them. Maybe they think if they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t under 25 — or if they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t men — they shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bother. But Unite member and apprentice Stacey Sowden, 33, has shown that you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t put apprentices in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1513,260,1569],"wps_subtitle":"Unite member and apprentice Stacey Sowden is forging her own path in construction","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27714"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27714"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27719,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27714\/revisions\/27719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}