Women in Trade – Meet Komalpreet Kaur

A Melbournian through and through, Komalpreet was halfway through another qualification, when she started hearing about lots of jobs in building and construction. She was hearing at the same time though that these weren’t jobs for girls! Well, that lit a fire under Komalpreet, ready to prove the doubters wrong, she investigated more and then decided to enrol in the Certificate III in Painting and Decorating at Orange College.

“When someone tells me ‘girls’ can’t do something, I can’t help but prove them wrong!”

As a newcomer to the industry, Komalpreet needed a thorough grounding in both the theoretical and practical aspects of painting and decorating. With trainers like Adam, Mark and Anthony, she was able to integrate the knowledge and skills from both sides, to get the best of both worlds. The best way to contextualise classes is to add real-world onsite experience into the mix, and even before graduating, Komalpreet was getting into the thick of it with painting jobs on construction projects.

Komalpreet says, “Initially, I was working with a sub-contractor called Ali Ibis, doing display homes for Porter Davis (while they were still operating). Ali really took me under his wing while we were working on these projects. He gave me the experience and the confidence to put the best foot forward in the industry.”

Asked if these jobs were easy to get, the answer, flatly “no”. Employers didn’t think she would have the toughness. Her first week on the job, there were literally hundreds of guys, and she realised she was literally the only woman. In most jobs in Australia, there’s a good mix of genders, and there were moments where Komalpreet questioned herself if she’d made a mistake. True to form though, she pushed through and her employer was very happy with the results. They were genuinely shocked at her success, saying, “We didn’t even think you were going to stay for a week.”

As graduation came closer and her skills and experience had taken form, she linked up with another ambitious girl, and started MS Art of Painting. They got their first client, a building project introduced to her by her original boss. With all the enthusiasm of a new duo going into business, they got their first contract, delivered, and have now grown to a team of five. Komalpreet reflects that it’s now more common to see women in building and construction jobs, the future is bright and full of opportunity.

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