More and more women are deciding to take up jobs in the gas industry.
18 August 2011
Caitlinn Davison is a Gas Safety Officer for a housing association. She tells us why she decided to enter the gas industry.
How long have you been a Gas Engineer? Since April 2011 but I have been working in gas safety and gas contract management for nearly four years.
Are you self-employed with your own business or employed? I am employed but not as a traditional gas engineer. I work as a Gas Safety Officer for a housing association, managing the day-to-day delivery of a gas contract—including servicing, installation, maintenance and quality control—for 3,000+ gas properties.
Why did you decide to train in this field? I decided to become a gas engineer because I have a passion for gas safety. Given that I manage a gas contract, I reckon ought to know what I'm doing.
Gas is such a highly regulated industry and one that is heavily scrutinised in social housing. Not having gas qualifications put me at a tremendous disadvantage when dealing with contractors and day-to-day issues. I work very closely with our contracted gas engineers and after going through training, the portfolio and having sat the ACS to prove my competence, I feel so much more confident to make the right decisions for the safety of our tenants.
I’ve always been a hands-on person, so I find a certain amount of enjoyment in stripping down a boiler to service or repair it.
How did you find attitudes to women whilst you were training?
I had no problems at all during training. There was another female in my college class, and we were both treated equally and as one of the guys.
Whilst training on-site, yes I did take some ribbing. The time-served guys would point at the hair brush in the tool bag and say, “So is that standard issue to gas engineers these days?” or grief about my tool bag on wheels, “Look out, here comes the trolley dolly!” None of it was vicious or made me feel uncomfortable; the key is to be confident and hand back as much as you get.
It may have helped that I served my time with our main gas contractors. So whilst I was their apprentice during training, in the grand scheme of things I am their gaffer. :)
How have you found attitudes to women gas engineers from customers?
The reception from tenants was very positive. “Oh, a lady to service my boiler! Wow, I didn’t expect that.” Many of our tenants are elderly and quite a few liked the idea of a woman in their home—it made them feel at ease. I also found that tenants appreciated the way I explained things to them. I don’t want to say that men are poor communicators, but women tend to have a different way of communicating.
Women shouldn’t think it’s all sweetness and light, and you will face antiquated opinions. I did have one man grumble, “Women shouldn't be doing a man's job.” And another old boy that simply refused to believe I could properly service a gas fire and would only take the word of my male trainer that the work had been completed to a satisfactory standard. Additionally, there were times that I felt uncomfortable being alone with certain customers.
What are the advantages and disadvantages? The only disadvantage I can think of is that most women don’t have the upper body strength of our male counterparts. This is a distinct disadvantage when trying to hang a boiler. What advice would you give to other women considering the job?
Go for it! It's a rewarding career. If you get a grief from the men, give it back and don't let it discourage you.
How has ViperGas helped you? Viper was one of the key tools I used to prepare for the ACS. I used the online subscription for the two years leading up to the ACS and used the printed material for the exams.
We also asked Caitlinn if there was anything she would like Viper to provide that it doesn't already. She said that as she was out and about and did not often have any internet or 3G access, that it would be very handy to have an 'offline' version of the handbooks to look at. It is something that other members have also raised.
We are pleased to say that we are currently working on a version of our handbooks that will allow members to purchase an App from the iTunes store to then access our books at anytime without internet access. There is more information in this bulletin and we are hoping to make that available over the next few months.
We are very grateful to Caitlinn for sharing her experiences with us. if you have an interesting story that you feel may be of interest to other members then why not contact us?
Keywords: gas industry gas engineer vipergas gas safety
