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Media release
TAFE NSW Bathurst | 24 September 2025
Emily defies the odds in male-dominated tiling trade
“It can be physically demanding but I constantly just try to push myself and prove girls can do this job just as well”
Emily Blasig, TAFE NSW Bathurst tiling student
TAFE NSW Bathurst has helped a one-time nanny and café waitress perform an unlikely reinvention – as a tiler.
Disillusioned and not sure of her career path, Emily Blasig left school at the end of year 12, bouncing around a number of different jobs.
Desperate for a rewarding, in-demand career, she decided to follow her sister and brother into the trades, eventually landing an apprenticeship as a wall and floor tiler with Becker’s Tiling.
It comes as the Central West, and the nation, battles an ongoing trades shortage. Between 2019 and 2024, online vacancies for wall and floor tilers nationally surged 73 per cent, the highest of any of the building trades. Meanwhile, less than 2 per cent of tradies in the construction industry are female.
“After I left school, I knew I didn’t want to go to uni and study more and none of the jobs I did really excited me,” Ms Blasig, 24, said.
“I resolved to do something that was hands-on and knew tradies were in demand. I liked the idea of having a skill that I could keep with me for my career.”
She said despite being an anomaly in the heavily male-dominated trade, she wasn’t treated any differently on job sites.
“I do feel like I have to prove myself a bit more but there’s been no real discrimination,” she said. “It can be physically demanding but I constantly just try to push myself and prove girls can do this job just as well.”
The West Bathurst woman attends TAFE NSW Bathurst to hone her hands on skills and knowledge.
“I’m a very visual learner so it’s great that my TAFE NSW course is so hands-on,” Ms Blasig said. “It’s great to bounce off the other students and learn different ways of doing things.
“I didn’t really know what to expect when I entered the trade but it’s really enjoyable and I’d love to see more females doing it. You get to learn a lot about many different trades and you can sit back and see the fruits of your labour at the end of every day.”
TAFE NSW Bathurst wall and floor tiling teacher Darren Scott said the demand for tilers in the region remained strong.
“Emily is a great example of the opportunities for a rewarding, in-demand career as a wall and floor tiler,” Mr Scott said.
“You’ll never be out of work as a tiler and there are real opportunities to open your own business and have a long and lucrative career.”
He said the Certificate III in Wall and Floor Tiling covered all aspects of the industry, including surface preparation, tile cutting, grouting and sealing, tile installation, and water proofing.
Media contact: Dan Johns, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, 02 7920 5000.
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