Inspiring female fridgie on the right track

A refrigeration technician is among three tradespeople to appear on a Tradeswomen Australia Community Foundation advertisement doing the rounds on a Melbourne tram.

Jennah Halley from JNR Refrigeration in Cairns was named Australia’s apprentice of the year in 2022. Her image now appears on the “Women Succeed in Trades” tram, which is running on the Melbourne tram network.

The fully wrapped tram shows real women succeeding in trades. Halley shares the mobile billboard with a successful electrician and a professional gardener.

The tram campaign was created by undergraduates from the Swinburne Design Bureau with support from the Yarra Trams Community Partnership Program, which provides in-kind advertising to charities and not-for-profits.

Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) CEO Glenn Evans says having a refrigeration technician represented in the campaign is a boon for the HVAC&R industry in Australia.

“It’s fantastic to see our industry represented in this way, and we are delighted to see Jennah Halley becoming a prominent face for female fridgies,” Evans says.

“Thanks to Jennah, and to Tradeswomen Australia, we are showing young women that not only can they pursue a trade career, but they can do it in the refrigeration sector. ARC data analysis shows the number of female fridgies has tripled in the past three years, and 55 per cent of them are under 29 – this tram can only help to boost those numbers further.”

Tradeswomen Australia is a non-profit organisation that aims to increase the representation of women in skilled trade roles and create safe workplaces for everyone.