New Zealand Certificate in Carpentry (Level 4)

KIRSTY Currie has always had an interest in building things.As a small child, she'd play around with various materials at hand. And as she got older, she enjoyed getting stuck in, "building all sorts of things'', including offering to help the various tradespeople employed to work on her parents' property.

After all those years tinkering, Kirsty decided to immerse herself fully in the building sector. She completed a New Zealand Certificate in Carpentry (Level 4) at Otago Polytechnic last year and is now working as an apprentice for Dunedin firm Beelee Homes Ltd.

"I wanted a career in building and the New Zealand Certificate in Carpentry was just the start for me. It is something that I should have been doing years ago,'' she says.

Kirsty was recently named a finalist in the Student/Apprentice Excellence section of the National Association of Women in Construction Excellence Awards.
"As I reflect back on my studies, I have learnt that there isn't just one way of doing something.
"Growing up in Dunedin in a family of four, and being a `tomboy', building was something I was immersed in at a very young age.
"I always enjoyed spending time with dad, building and fixing things. It's something I continue to do even now _ except now it's me getting to tell him how to do it properly.''
* For more information about opportunities for women in construction,visit www.op.ac.nz/girls-girls-girls