Sometimes, apprentices and their bosses don’t get along. For Holly and Jonno, however, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Since she was young, Holly Blake hasn’t been the biggest fan of being indoors. It was in the middle of year 11 she decided studying in the library wasn’t for her, so Holly set out to find her place in the world.
“I was brainstorming a few things with my parents, then the Head Start crew came through my school and that gave me a shot at doing year 12 as well as learn a trade,” she said.
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With her dad being a chippy, Holly’s always had tradie blood in her veins. But rather than working with timber, She decided to dive into the world of electricians.
It was here that she ran into Jonno McCartney – owner of McCartney Electrical.
Locked in
Jonno’s no stranger to dealing with apprentices. He’s been a sparky for about 20 years, 11 of which he’s ran his own business.
Based in Bayswater in Melbourne’s east, McCartney Electrical has jobs across a number of sectors including childcare, aged care and even work on pools or for Apple.
When it came to hiring, Jonno set himself a target in 2019.
“I had a focus in my head at the time that our next apprentice hire would be female,” he said.
“H came and work with me on a job in Eltham. Once we finished that job I straight up went to her “would you like the job?”
“She just picked everything up real quick.”
Jonno said the coachability of an apprentice is ¾ of the battle, and he could tell Holly had the right chops to be a sparky from the get-go.
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“You get kids that come through that are stuck on their phones, they just would not get off them and their attitudes would be poor,” he added.
“Holly rocked up with the right attitude – she’s a semi-professional athlete which helps as well.
“When you have that mindset like she does; it’s a no-brainer that you’d want those kinds of people in your culture and community.”
Right readings
That job satisfaction was mutual for Holly as well, as she quickly forged a love for electrical work.
“It’s been awesome, we do absolutely everything so I’ve got heaps of experience under my belt across heaps of aspects of electrical (work),” she said.
“I love doing new builds and being able to see stuff from start to finish.
“Mainly though, it’s seeing the satisfaction from the client at the end of the job, that makes it worth it.”
When she’s not on the tools, Holly’s tearing up dirt tracks with Alliance Motorsports in the Victorian Off-Road Championships.
While the sparky know-how hasn’t come in handy with her racing, Holly’s gotten plenty of support from her co-workers at McCartney Electrical.
“I always get a good pep talk to not come in Monday all banged up,” Holly said.
“She comes in Monday all black and blue,” Jonno joked.
Dream team
Holly isn’t the only woman sparky to join Jonno’s crew, with Amali also coming aboard.
While many can experience barriers entering the trade industry – including women – that was something Jonno, Holly and the rest of their team hadn’t experienced.
“I challenge that – I understand there’s only three per cent of females employed in the trades at the moment, but I’m definitely seeing more and more women getting involved that’s for sure,” Jonno said.
Holly’s still got a bit more time on her apprenticeship, but once she’s wrapped it up, the sky’s the limit.
As for Jonno and the team and McCartney Electrical, it’s business as usual as they continue to open doors for apprentices eager to give being a tradie a proper go.
“For any girls out there looking to get into trades, you’ve gotta demonstrate who you are as a human being and your ability to have a dip,” Jonno said.
“Don’t be frightened of making mistakes, we’ve all made mistakes and we can fix them.
“Learn from them and you’ll become a better human being.”
You can find out more about McCartney Electrical online here or on Instagram @mccartneyelectricalsolutions