Introducing … Briony
Briony is one of our fabulous international customers from Jersey, Channel Islands (UK). 🙂
Name : Briony Price
Role : Plumber and Heating Engineer
Brief role description :
Diagnosing & repairing faults on plumbing & heating systems. Bathroom, central heating and underfloor heating installations. Servicing unvented hot water cylinders & solar systems.
What is it about your role you enjoy?
I love the variety of my work, every day is different. I love seeing different houses and workplaces and meeting new people. I also really enjoy the problem solving aspect of my work and having a happy customer at the end of it.
How did you get into your trade/industry/role? What did you study or how did you learn your skills? :
I was originally going to be a primary school teacher but got halfway through my A Levels and changed my mind! I had always wanted to do something “different” and I’d heard of another girl over here who was a plumber so I thought I’d give it a go. My dad was a builder so from a young age I’d been on building sites so it wasn’t a daunting environment to me.
I served a 4 year plumbing apprenticeship with the local government and did 1 day a week at college studying NVQ Plumbing & Heating, I worked in different placements throughout so experienced everything from domestic plumbing to large scale plant in the local hospital.
Have you won any awards? Have you earned any specific recognition or been involved in something “out of the box”? :
I’ve been in the local paper & on local radio a number of times speaking about my job or about women working in the construction industry. I also set up a Facebook group called Jersey Female Tradies for other women in Jersey who also work in the trades. It’s a good place to share your frustrations or funny moments or just to seek support from others, we also meet up occasionally for breakfast to just catch up and have a laugh.
What advice would you give to other women wanting a role similar to yours, a woman wanting to get into your industry or a woman wanting to start her own business.
If you can get the opportunity to do some work experience first, then go for it. It’ll give you a really good idea as to whether a particular trade is right for you. I did a one year full time course at college before starting my apprenticeship which covered plumbing, carpentry, painting and brickwork which was really helpful for me to be absolutely sure plumbing was what I wanted to do. Be prepared to work hard & get dirty doing it, you can’t be too precious about your appearance with a job like this although I do still have my nails done every 2 weeks! And don’t aim to be as good as the boys, be better!
Tell us a funny story about your role or an amusing experience you’ve had.
After 22 years in the trade there are so many stories! I’ve experienced everything from being mistaken for a boy (too many times!), a crazy cougar lady who kept flashing me, a man that hid under his kitchen table whilst I worked, a woman driven mad by the noise of what she thought was a leak but was actually an alarm clock in her attic, and all many of things I’ve taken out of blocked toilets like boxer shorts, a shoe, twigs, plastic cups, a small Disney prince and a toy unicorn!
Any feedback or comments about your she wear boots.
I have the wonderful she achieves boots in pink. I absolutely love them and they are so comfortable. They get a lot of comments too and it’s surprising how many men want some!