Hospitality to HVACR

Jemma left high school at 17 and began working in hospitality. After a few years in that unstable industry, she resolved to learn a trade and began her apprenticeship in HVACR.

What were you up to before starting your HVACR apprenticeship?

I left high school at 17 and went straight into the hospitality industry. I stood behind a few cash registers, took many orders, and wiped down a lot of tables. I enjoyed hospitality for a little while, but I just knew I couldn't do it as a stable career. Doing the exact same thing every single day really drained me and people can be very serious about food! After being completely over hospitality I wondered what I could possibly do next? Another café job? Definitely not. It was time to start thinking long term. My mum was the one who suggested I find a trade in the first place.

At the beginning of all this, I had no idea that refrigeration and air conditioning was even a trade to do, nor did I know how much goes into it all. So, I completed an electrical pre-trade level 3 course at NZMA.

How is your apprenticeship going? Are you learning plenty and having a good time?

I am currently five months into my apprenticeship at Ecochill South Auckland. It is going well and I’m really enjoying going out and seeing all the different sites that we look after and meeting with and talking to the customers. I think the best part about this job as a refrigeration and air conditioning apprentice is that every day is different. I could be up high in a scissor lift with an engineer changing an evaporator fan one day to detecting gas leaks in a plant room the next!

I am constantly learning new things on and off the job just by talking to the engineers and other apprentices that I work with. They are all very knowledgeable and amazing people to be around every day and I feel very lucky with how I have ended up. I can't wait to move forward and to officially become an engineer.

How is your experience being a woman in this industry?

My experience so far has been incredible and life changing. Choosing HVACR as a career really does open so many doors opportunity wise because you get to learn so many different things and pieces of many different trades. Like, it is insane how much you learn and do: electrical, welding, technician, plumbing, engineering. The people at Ecochill have been incredibly kind and welcoming towards me and I couldn’t have asked for a better team to work alongside. I haven't been there for too long, but everyone already feels like family, and I have many role models within the company.