WE’RE AS RARE AS UNICORNS, SAYS WOMAN WELDER
WHEN Becky Fairway turned up for the first day of her welding course as a teenager, she was one of two dozen students in the room – the rest were all men.
She always loved getting her hands dirty and, even when people doubted her decision to go into engineering, she knew she was meant to be behind the power tools.
As a schoolgirl, Becky says she had “no idea” what she wanted to do. It was only during a work experience stint in an office that she started crossing off things she knew she could not be happy to do.
Dirt on her face and rips in her overalls, Becky Fairway, of North Country, Redruth, now says, decades later, she has no doubt in her mind that she is in the right place and that when the visor goes down she “is in her zone.”
As a student, the now 36-year-old did not set out to defy any gender stereotypes, she just wanted to gain a valuable and lifelong skill in the high-demand field of welding.
Now, through her life and TikTok account, she is on a mission to inspire other young women to try something different, saying “you will never know you like something until you try it”.
“I think everyone remembers when you’re at school in the last year and it’s time for work experience and you have to choose what you think you want to do,” she added.
“They stuck me in an office for two weeks on the hottest days of the year and I knew I didn’t want to do it, ever again.” It was then that she tried out a couple of different, more physical, job roles, saying: “I just always liked doing stuff with my hands and, as soon as I had a go at welding I just loved it.”
It was not as simple as that, though, as Becky was raised by her grandparents, so there was an age gap and they had very different opinions on what an appropriate job for a young woman would be at that time.
“My nan wanted me to be a nurse or receptionist and, when I came home covered in dirt and crap, she wasn’t my biggest supporter,” Becky recalled, with a smile. “But now she’s just happy that I’m happy.
“It was a different time but it’s getting easier for women now and the last time round, when I trained, even more women were applying [for the course].” Becky originally qualified as a teenager and worked as a welder for a number of companies in Cornwall, but took some time away from it when she fell pregnant with her son, Logan, who is now seven, and who she has raised alone.
“When he was four, I went back to refresh my skills after a break,” she explained. “I thought ‘I’m a mum now’ and I wanted to be doing something I enjoy and support my family, so I got back into welding.”
Within a short space of time, she had secured a position as a welder at Anevay Stoves, a wood-burning stove company based in Cardrew Industrial Estate, Redruth, where she has been working for the past two years.
In the early 2000s, during her training, there was only one other woman working on site with Becky and no other female welders. Today, she is joined by an apprentice female welder at Anevay Stoves. Between her and another welder colleague, Rob, they tell me they have only ever come across a handful of female welders in Cornwall, but they are on the rise.
“My dad was a welder,” explained Becky, who thinks that was a big inspiration for her to go into the field. “It’s always going to be taboo for a woman to do this. Finding a female welder is a bit like finding a unicorn.
“It’s definitely getting better but it’s even the same for a man in some industries at the end of the day. I remember there was one male nursery teacher in my son’s nursery, and even I was surprised by that.
“You can use it to your advantage, though. When I came here. I remember the owners were quite surprised to see a women welder and I do think it can help in that way. The truth is, I’m never going to be able to lift the amount a man can, I’m not built that way physically, but I’m not going to let it stop me from giving it a go.”
Through TikTok videos and sharing her story, she hopes that she can inspire anyone thinking about pursuing a similar career to “just go for it”, saying her son never thinks twice about the fact that mum is a welder. “If there are any young girls reading this and thinking of doing something different, I would just say just go and do it,” she added.
“I’ve done loads of jobs through my life and worked at pretty much every factory on this estate and, because of that, I know that you will never know you like something until you try it.
“When I was 16, I felt under pressure to decide, decide, decide, and it’s worse now, I think. Children are under so much pressure with exams and the added pressure of social media. I think you’re taking all this home with you now, it doesn’t end at the school gates any more, but I think that’s even more reason to just give something new a go.”
‘It’s always going to be taboo. Finding a female welder is a bit like finding a unicorn’
BECKY FAIRWAY