By Esther Lauaki
Sparks have been flying during Romsey Neighbourhood House’s latest course.
The Women in Welding program has drawn an overwhelming response with 70 participants in the first week.
Work placement volunteer Danielle Stanton came up with the idea to run welding workshops led by her dad Graham, a certified TAFE facilitator in the craft.
A notice on the Neighbourhood House Facebook page picked up 12,000 views.
House co-ordinator Michelle Balthazar said courses in male-dominated fields are very popular with women.
“We’ve already got bookings lined up for August and September,” Ms Balthazar said.
“I think women are really interested in predominantly male-dominated industries.
“We have previously run a chainsaw course, which was very popular.
“Particularly in our area, which is semi-rural, women are learning these trades for fire prevention because they are quite often needing to clear land or in the event that they need to escape fire-prone areas.”
Ms Balthazar said that the organisation would support the establishment of a women’s shed in Romsey to run these courses from.
“We want to offer courses like furniture restoration and car maintenance,” she said. “Our Sheilas in the Shed program was a success, but we had to discontinue it because of a lack of space.”
Register for the Women in Welding course: 5429 6724.
