Baytex Manufacturing Co Ltd – and Katie, Aurora, and Chanel

Baytex is a marquee manufacturing business and was established in 1969.

Baytex exports over 50 percent of its work, which includes large scale architecturally designed PVC structures.

Baytex has over 40 staff at its companies in Tauranga, Australia and in the United States. Baytex is associated with MITO and it employs tradespeople in the canvas fabrication, engineering and industrial sewing trades.

Baytex has two qualified female canvas fabricators and one apprentice. Canvas fabricating is a specialist trade, with only around 50 new apprentices each year. Baytex also has eight senior sewing machinists.

We interviewed Wendy Tankard (company director), Louise Pike (textile fabricator), Julie Clifton (supervisor and senior sewing machinist), Jill Bennie (assistant supervisor and senior sewing machinist), Katie Wiseman (supervisor and tradesperson canvas fabricator), Aurora Jordan (apprentice canvas fabricator) and Chanel Davies (tradesperson canvas fabricator).

Katie started at Baytex at age 16 as a sewing machinist.  She completed her apprenticeship in canvas fabrication in 2006, and has worked her way up to supervisor of the marquee floor, which involves managing ten staff. Katie won Tier 1 and 2 Apprentice of the Year. She is the first female and the youngest ever supervisor at Baytex.

Aurora has been at Baytex for almost four years and as an apprentice canvas fabricator for the past two years.  Aurora was awarded Tier 1 Apprentice of the Year 2010.

Chanel has worked at Baytex since 2000 as a canvas fabricator. Chanel was awarded Tier One Apprentice of the Year in 2001.  She has been on parental leave twice and currently works part-time (15 hours).

The benefits of having tradeswomen in the company

Wendy, after 15 years of hard work to get women on the marquee floor noticed that:

‘As soon as I put the women out there, the men had to work smarter and harder like the women’.

In addition, Wendy appreciates the following benefits of having women working at Baytex

• the change in men’s attitudes to women
• men had to smarten their act – dress, swearing, and work ethic
• reduces injury rates – working smarter not harder
• the attitude to winning is better
• helped to balance the business
• women achieve their paper work more efficiently
• women have high levels of knowledge and are strong psychologically – in order to get respect from men.

The benefits of being a tradeswoman

All of the tradeswomen commented on the sense of achievement that working in the trades brings, including:

• pay, knowledge and variety – the wow factor of the work, are the best things about the job (Louise)
• variety, people we work with/working conditions, pay and talent recognition are the best things about the job (Julie and Jill)
• keeping fit, seeing the finished product, people/social aspect and accommodating my needs when I was pregnant, are the things she appreciates most (Chanel)
• the rewarding job, sense of achievement, work environment/team, are the best things about the job (Katie)
• having a trade behind you, good experience, range of work, are the top things about her job (Aurora).

At Baytex, the women are successful at the jobs they do:

“Trying extra hard and we get respect for that – none of the males have won Apprentice of the Year and all three women have.” Katie

 “There are guys there if we need them, but we can pretty much handle anything.” Katie

The opportunities for challenge and to utilise their skills are obvious:

 “Once I’ve finished my apprenticeship I can keep learning and it gives me opportunities to go overseas.”  Aurora

“People, work environment, rewarding, enjoy the organisational and problem solving aspects of the job.” Katie

 “Every time we get a new machine I want to learn to use it.” Louise

“Set up a challenge and they’ll help us achieve it.”  Louise

Wendy says that challenge and training are central to keeping women engaged.  The specific things that Wendy does are:

• offer promotions – new and different roles
• training – as much as they’ll take, for example literacy and computer skills and supervisory training
• offer apprenticeships (many of the women started as sewers and moved into canvas fabrication, and were then offered apprenticeships)
• encourage awards – three women have been put forward and all have taken tier 1 or tier 2 Apprentice of the Year
• lots of praise and encouragement
• clean, organised and tidy facilities.

Women identified role-modelling of women already in the trades as an important way to attract others:

“Katie won apprentice of the year twice in a row. If she can do it then I can do it.” Aurora

“Getting out to the schools – role-modelling women already in trades.”  Wendy

The tradeswomen at Baytex also commented that if it wasn’t for Wendy, there wouldn’t be as many women working there, and they probably wouldn’t be in the positions that they are.

Promoting trades in a way that works for young women is also important, such as via careers advisors and modern technology:

“To attract women – twitter, facebook, text.” Wendy

“Career Advisors – give them more information about getting women into trades.” Louise

“Present it at schools in a way that attracts women – so they think of doing it.” Katie

“Word of mouth is most important. MITO did a DVD on Baytex for Just the Job. Advertising through schools by giving information to careers
advisors.”  Wendy

“Promoting trades – lots of people don’t know about it – or think ‘it’s not the job for me – too heavy.”  Chanel

More women at the top, like Wendy, to encourage workplaces to take on tradeswomen are required:

‘Need more women at the top to encourage women tradies to come on board’. (Wendy)

‘Employers realising women can do it. Need more women like Wendy – leadership’. (Julie and Jill)

‘Making employers aware that women can do the job. Getting females into the interviews. A website where employers can advertise jobs and welcome/target women’. (Katie)

Publicity is also important, via brochures etc and showing what women can do:

‘Anyone who has any doubts about me – that won’t last long because they see how well I work’. (Katie)

For more information visit www.baytex.co.nz