Women in Plumbing Profile: Jane Bishop

Name: Jane Bishop

Age: 22

Current qualification/level: Signed off Roof Plumber - waiting on exams.

What were you doing before plumbing? For years I’ve had and still maintain a strong passion for mental health, psychology and neuroscience. After working extremely hard throughout my VCE studies I decided to apply for a Bachelor in Psychology. To my genuine surprise, I got in, then learnt the debt figure I’d be left with after eight years of study, got scared and then I deferred for 10 years. I knew I loved tinkering in the shed and had from a very young age while admiring my old man’s work ethic and passion as a mechanic. As well as loving anything outdoors and physically laborious, I simply couldn’t ignore the idea of picking up the tools and learning a trade just like all the blokes in my family I grew up idolising did when they were my age.

Favourite part about the trade: It would be impossible for me to pinpoint one aspect of my job that I would consider my favourite. From the eye candy experience after stepping back and admiring a completed job, to the gratitude received from clients when you can finally reassure them that they can start using their pots and pans for cooking again and not indoor and rain gauges. It is simply an all round rewarding trade.

Name one thing you want women coming into the program to know: I promise you that staring out on the tools is not as scary as you think it might be. The support networks now available for women working in construction is phenomenal. You will be welcomed into the field of plumbing with open arms. Personally for me, learning a trade has been the best decision I have ever made and it might just be yours too. From the hands on skills I have learnt, to the long life friendships I have made and the passions I have developed within roof plumbing, the benefits of learning a trade within the plumbing sector are endless.

Fun fact about yourself or your time in the trade: I am living with type 1 Narcolepsy and am very passionate about spreading awareness around the topic of working in construction while living with an invisible illness.