A Bright Spark

Anna started her full-time, all-yearround, electrical apprentice role in September 2022, but it wasn’t her first time on the mountain, having spent two winter seasons as a lift operator and lead hand, then another two seasons as a trade assistant at the Blue Cow area of the mountain.

“When I worked on the lifts, I was always really interested in learning more about them, especially the electrical side,” said Anna. “I put my name forward and my supervisor and manager were so welcoming and keen to help me, but I had to wait a year until someone had left and a role became available.”

Since January 2022, Perisher has taken on eight new apprentices with three being female. Although representation in the trades team is skewed towards male employees, it’s encouraging to see more females taking interest in rewarding trade careers.

“I thought it would have been harder to get in being a female, but everyone was so welcoming and even encouraging me towards leadership roles,” said Anna. “I had two male and one female lead hand when I started and I was always looking up to my female supervisor as a role model.”

Anna says a lot of females think they are not strong enough to do a trade, but the real surprise for her was that she was and that picking up how to use the tools came really easily to her.

“I went into the job not having much electrical knowledge and I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it,” said Anna. “But, I’m really glad I got the job, I’m really enjoying it and learning lots each dayit keeps the brain active and there’s no downside to the job at all.”

Anna

Ski

She said the whole team are good teachers and really open to showing her how to do things.

“They’re always happy to help and there’s no hierarchy - I get treated the same as everyone else, not just as the apprentice, or the female,” said Anna. “I have friends who work as apprentices o the mountain and that isn’t always the case - I’ve heard some terrible stories and just feel so thankful to be where I am.”

Every day at work is so di erent for Anna and she could be working up a tower on the chairlifts one day and on a control panel or working on fibre another day. There are also the domestic electrical needs around the resort, which allows her to travel all over the mountain.

“It’s a great place to do an electrical apprenticeship because you can work on ski lifts, but also the basic household electrical work that you could do o the mountain,” said Anna.

There’s also no need to be out in rough weather when there’s still things to fix indoors and when the weather is fine, the team will make the most of it and climb each of the towers to do checks.

“I love it all - I just love coming to work and feel like I’m living the quote about never working a day in your life if you love what you do,” said Anna. “My advice for other females thinking about this career is to never think you can’t do something until you’ve had a red hot crack at it - you will surprise yourself sometimes and that is the best feeling in the world.”

There are many opportunities to live, work and play on the mountain at Perisher, visit www.perisher.com.au/ perisher-jobs for the latest roles.

• Multiple delivery and pick up days Jindabyne and resorts with no additional charges.

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Over the past 5 years we have owned “Snowy Laundry”, we have continued to supply our customers with the highest level of service and quality linen. Based in Jindabyne, our high volume laundry has state of the art equipment plus dedicated and experienced staff to cope with any demand. We know there has been change in the mountain laundry landscape this past year, and we are here to help with local options for all your laundry needs when required. We are proud to support the local economy with employment and to also sponsor local sporting organisations. Should you require a quote for your business, please call at any time. We would be happy to discuss all your laundry requirements - Mick and Rebecca.

Snowy Mountains and South Coast NSW

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