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17 Mar 2025
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17 Mar 2025
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Dominique Knight with colleagues Daniel Chaplin and Lorchan Dunne
A young Kilkenny apprentice is urging more young women to explore a rewarding career in trades, highlighting her own path on International Women’s Day at the weekend.
Dominique Knight (19) from Kilkenny, joined Suir Engineering in October 2024 because she was drawn to the idea of working in a physical, fast-paced environment rather than a traditional office job. While Ireland is making strides towards greater gender balance in the STEM sector, only 5.2% of state apprenticeships are taken by women, and just 9.1% of Ireland’s construction workforce is female.
“I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands, and every day on site is a learning curve,” Dominique says. “One of the most surprising things I’ve learned is that I don’t get treated any differently than anyone else. That’s how it should be, and it’s a good thing.”
Looking ahead, Dominique hopes to become a qualified ‘sparks’ and eventually move into a leadership role as a chargehand or supervisor
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Encouraging more women to consider a trade, she said: “More girls are joining building sites, so the old stereotypes are disappearing.”
Opportunity
Apprenticeships like Suir Engineering’s Apprentice programme provide a hands-on pathway into the trades without the need for a university degree.
In December 2024, Suir Engineering launched a Centre of Excellence to support the state’s SOLAS training programmes. The programme offers permanent positions in electrical and electrical and instrumentation trades.
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