Woman goes from depression to learning a trade to starting her own business

October 3, 2019

A massive 33,000 workers are need in the industry over the coming years.

A woman who says she spent 10 years battling depression and was "totally ignorant about construction" is now going to start her own business in the industry having learnt a trade.

The Government says 33,000 construction workers are needed in the coming years, and it's targeting women to make up the numbers.

Seven Sharp reported there's good money to be made on the tools and those struggling to find work are being trained with new skills.

For Kirstin McGavin, plastering is more than a job - it's a lifesaver, literally.

"I'd spent a good 10 years battling with depression, anxiety, all sorts of things. And it got to the point where I'd had enough and was close to doing something stupid," she said.

She was on and off the benefit after leaving school at the end of fifth form with no qualifications.

"I didn't see a future for myself. So I had two children by the time I was 19. I don't regret it at all but I wish I had thought of other avenues."

I was for once proud of myself that I had achieved something

—  Kirstin McGavin | plasterer

But things really turned around when Ms McGavin went on a Kiwi Can Do course and learnt a trade - plastering.

"I was totally ignorant about construction. Holy heck, I didn't even know plastering was a thing," she said.

"I actually found that I had a bit of a knack for it. I was for once proud of myself that I had achieved something - not only a qualification in plastering, the fact that it's a career, it has opened up so many different avenues."

And turns out the skill runs in the family, with daughter Danielle McGavin saying she can "think of nothing but being a tradie".

The McGavins are something of a rarity as only 2.6 per cent of construction workers are women. The Government is hoping to increase that to 30 per cent by 2040.

Programmes like Kiwi Can Do train people on the benefit in construction skills.

"We try to avoid pens and pencils and we give them practical hands on work with older tradies who have been in the industry for years and years," said Iain Morrison of Kiwi Can Do. 

Kristin McGavin has got the ticket and now she's back to train other young women at a worksite in Naenae, Lower Hutt.

And she's going to start her own business, possibly a mother and daughter one.

"My future's just endless," she said. 

"Don't just limit yourself to thinking as a female you can only work in certain areas." 

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