Huge university debts see more Australians becoming tradies

With the soaring cost of living making university debts jump even higher to average $45,000, taking on an apprenticeship could earn you $201,000 over four years.

Camila Bernal never expected that an Instagram account she opened two years ago just to keep track of a portfolio of her jobs would “take off” and lead to her starting her own business that is set to make $100,000 this year.

The Melbourne woman had initially studied graphic design at university in Colombia but when she landed in Australia she ended up taking on freelance projects for “pretty much nothing”.

“I was asked to do posters for $20 and they can take days and the biggest project was for an agency, which asked me to do a website and I got paid $1800 and the project lasted months, and that is the maximum amount of money I earned as a graphic designer here,” she explained.

To make ends meet she was working two other jobs in cafes.

“I was working in hospitality and I was being paid $17 an hour working really hard shifts — hospitality is a pretty difficult job,” she noted.

Then a friend introduced her to the trade of caulking seven years ago and offered to teach her the ropes.

Camila Bernal on a job. Picture: Supplied

She is passionate about being a tradie. Picture: Supplied

Camila Bernal is happy she went into a trade. Picture: Supplied

It is the last trade to come in and do the waterproofing – filling the gaps with silicone between the tiles in the shower, the windows and the splashback for example.

Surprisingly, Ms Bernal also discovered that the trade had a “aesthetic art” to it as she matched different colours and has uncovered a passion for the trade.

When she initially started out, she said there were times the workplace culture made her feel uncomfortable, but she has found things have changed and she is happy to raise any issues with builders who she has found supportive.

She has had women reaching out on Instagram wanting advice on becoming a tradie. Picture: Supplied

Camila Bernal never expected that an Instagram account would lead to her starting her own business that is set to make $100,000 this year. Picture: Supplied

But she never imagined she would end up with her own caulking business because of an Instagram account.

“I opened an Instagram account in 2021 and it was just for myself as I was working in very nice houses. I’m the last trade in, even after the cleaners I’m the last one in, and I was doing really nice projects and wanted to take pictures of the amazing houses I was doing. I opened the Instagram account to have a portfolio of jobs,” she said.

“All of a sudden it started growing and had thousands of followers and I had lots of job requests and could do it in the afternoon and on the weekend.

“My name was getting more recognised … that I got to a point that I have so much work outside of the company I was working for that I felt that it was the right time for me to start my own business.

“I was doing tutorials, talking about products and showing myself off it was like ‘Hey Australia this is Camila the caulker and this is what I do’. It was the best decision and since then I haven’t stopped working.”

The 31-year-old has even appeared on the reality TV show The Block as a result and will feature in this year’s series too.

She has appeared on The Block. Picture: Supplied

Ms Bernal was making around $80,000 when fully qualified and believes young Aussies – especially women – should consider taking up a trade instead of going to university.

It comes as those with a HECS/HELP debt are being slammed with a 7.1 per cent increase to their student loan this year due to skyrocketing inflation.

This means for those with an average debt of $25,000, they will be slugged with an extra $1750 to their debt this year, while a $30,000 loan would incur an extra $2100 on top.

Empowered Women in Trades (EWIT) is a registered charity organisation founded to increase female representation in trades by facilitating access through work experience, educational training and ongoing support.

It is seeing more women trading university for lucrative careers on the tool.

She said more women should pick up the tools. Picture: Supplied

So rather than incurring a significant HECS debt straight out of school, they are opting to ‘pick up the tools’ and get paid to learn a trade.

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research report shows that apprenticeship commencement numbers, for the 12 months to September 2021, had increased by 88.1 per cent compared to the previous 12 month period.

In addition, the number of female apprentices/trainees soared by 101.2 per cent, while ABS data shows that full-time university student numbers dropped by 109,600, or 8.7 per cent, in the year to May 2022.

EWIT believes trades are becoming a more attractive career option as they can get paid for ‘on the job learning’ as an apprentice as opposed to forking out money to attend university and incurring a large HECS debt.

Earnings over four years as an apprentice can be between $151,411 to $201,361, according to EWIT, compared to a university debt which could add up to as much as $45,768.

Trades also have potential to earn more when fully qualified, rather than starting ‘at the bottom’ as a graduate post university.

Becoming a tradie could be more lucrative. Picture: Supplied

Median salary of a trade upon completion is $75,971 while a median salary after university is $65,000.

“The fact that you get paid while you learn its an amazing opportunity and once you finish you have experience and money and you already know the industry you can make a lot of money,” added Ms Bernal.

“You have a future where you can eventually have your own company and now if you’re a female the community is growing so much I can only see opportunities for us in the future in the construction industry.”