Dominique Sutherland-Rees was on her first job at a construction site when she fell into a concrete mixing vat. But it was the solid stuff that turned her off the gig.
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"I was too tiny to lift it all, so my boss got me onto painting instead," she said.
Three and a half years later, the nineteen-year-old hasn't felt out of place on a job yet.
As apprenticeships decline across Australia, the number of Canberrans like Dominique taking up a trade has surged by almost fifty per cent in two years.
The territory recorded the highest growth in commencements of any jurisdiction between 2015 and 2017, with the number of Indigenous apprentices as well as those with a disability also on the rise.
ACT minister for higher education and training Meegan Fitzharris said part of territory's success came down to targeting support to apprentices throughout their study, focussing in particular on women and mature-age workers looking to re-skill.
Since graduating from her own apprenticeship in February, Ms Sutherland-Rees said she saw more women out on the job, whether as carpenters or electricians, but female painters such as herself still seemed a rarity.
"It's all good though, I beat out a bunch of mates for my first [gig] and I'm fine out at jobs now," she said.
Last week, the ACT became one of five jurisdictions to sign onto the federal government's new $1.5 billion Skilling Australians Fund, throwing in $20.4 million over the next four years.
The fund aims to address the nation's trade shortfall by creating an extra 300,000 apprenticeships and traineeships across Australia. An ACT government spokeswoman said negotiations had stipulated the ACT not be penalised for its recent success under the deal.
Assistant federal minister for vocational education Karen Andrews said numbers would grow even more in the ACT, as the Turnbull government worked with the territory to identify projects for joint funding.
“Canberra and the region has not been immune to the skills shortages...which we’ve seen around Australia," Ms Andrews said.
She stressed the value of apprentices and trainees to industry could "not be overstated".
While the traditional view of a tradie might call to mind plumbers, carpenters and electricians, Ms Fitzharris said apprenticeships were available in hundreds of qualifications including health, community services and IT.
In March, amid a stagnating number of women entering trades, the minister launched a half a million dollar grants program to increase female participation.
