Amanda Bursey (25) - Now A Plumber
A three-year marketing degree and a year as an office assistant may not seem the obvious start to a plumbing career but for 25-years old Amanda it convinced her that she certainly did not want to be sat behind a desk Monday to Friday in a traditional office job.
From desk sitter to bathroom fitter
Having read about the shortage of plumbers in the newspapers, it had been a family joke that if Amanda couldn’t make it in marketing she could always be a plumber. But after spending a depressing year after her degree looking for a job in marketing, Amanda began to think that perhaps it just might be a serious option.
A newspaper advert gave her the nudge to find out more and within a very short space of time Amanda found herself to be the first girl on her course.
“I loved the course,” she says “and the staff were great because they didn’t treat me any differently just because I was a girl. I really enjoyed all of the practical side, the atmosphere in the centre and working with the other students, though I must admit that I wasn’t quite so keen on the theory!”
It took just four months for Amanda to complete the course and she is now an area manager for RTA, a national company. As well as being ‘on the tools’, Amanda is now also using her marketing skills to promote the company’s services as well as being responsible for allocating work to the other tradesmen.
“Being a female has never proved an obstacle,” says Amanda “and although people can be shocked when I make initial contact, they all say it is nice to have a female plumber. There are also a lot of advantages, such as customers seem to trust me more and older people and ladies who live on their own much prefer it. So I would certainly recommend the course to anyone – boy or girl!”
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