At just 20 years old, Bianca Taylor is South Australia’s first female stonemason and the 2024 Apprentice of the Year – an inspiration for a new generation of women in trades.
“Being recognised for my hard work feels nice. It’s slowly sinking in that the award is real,” Bianca said about the South Australian Skills Commissions and States highest training accolade presented at this years South Australian Training Awards.
After completing her Certificate III in Stonemasonry late last year, she is now working towards her Certificate III in Heritage Trade Skills – and starting her own business.
Bianca is thrilled that the award shines a light on something that’s close to her heart: “Stonemasonry is a dying art but very important. It’s Adelaide history that we’re going to be keeping and restoring. We’re lucky here; we’ve kept most of our heritage. As you walk through the CBD, you can still see the old facades.”
“Heritage conservation is what keeps buildings like the Adelaide Railway Station standing. It takes a whole team of people. I learnt such a wide array of skills there, which is why we’ve got to make sure we don’t lose heritage conservation skills.”
“I feel a moral obligation to the buildings I work on through my masonry. Each building’s personal to me. I just have a care and interest in it.”
From schoolgirl to stonemason
Bianca’s journey in construction began at 15 through the Doorways2construction program, which led to two weeks of work experience in stonemasonry via the Renewal SA Works Program.
“I remember after my work experience, I told my mum, ‘I love this. I feel like I haven’t been at work all week. I have to do this’,” she said, which resulted in an apprenticeship at Heritage Stone Restoration (HSR), where she was one of three successful applicants.
She was offered the option of doing the apprenticeship part-time while staying on at school but opted to go all in. “I told them, full time, let’s go!”, says Bianca, and she hasn’t looked back since.
Spending two years based at Adelaide Railway Station – which she affectionately calls “my little baby” – Bianca was unfazed to be the only female on the restoration team.
“I love Adelaide Railway Station. I got to carve a medallion: It came to site as a Hebel block and I learnt how to do ornate rendering. I had never done that before, but it was the best week ever. Now, every time I walk past the Station, I look at that medallion and think, ‘Still there. I did that’.”
“It’s going to be there for a long time, and when it needs fixing again, I’ll be able to fix it because I have my own business now – Taylor Made Heritage Restoration.”
Building a legacy, stone by stone
Bianca became a qualified stonemason last December and started promoting her business in January. Her first client was MaryLou Bishop from South Australia’s Quondong station, located 164 kilometres from Burra.
Getting anyone to work on the 365,000-acre sheep station is challenging, but Bianca loves the work in regional SA. “I met MaryLou during my apprenticeship, and when she asked if I would like to work on restoring its homestead, I said, ‘Yep, can I call you when I’m qualified?’ So, in January, I called her, and off I went. That was the beginning of Taylor Made.”
Since being named Apprentice of the Year, Bianca says her phone has been “going a little bit crazy, which is nice”.
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Cathedral dreams: Check!
When Bianca left school for her apprenticeship, she told her mum she had two goals: to get qualified before turning 20 and to work on a cathedral before turning 30. She accomplished both before celebrating her 21st birthday.
This year, she flew to England to hone her skills at Exeter Cathedral, a 1,000-year-old Gothic icon, through the Cathedrals’ Workshop Fellowship (CWF), which runs an exchange program with FCTA-Building Careers in SA – Bianca’s training provider.
“I can’t believe I got to work on a cathedral in my lifetime. It grew me as a person as well as with my skills. It was nice to go over, but it was also nice to come back – I missed Adelaide,” she says.
The bright future of heritage restoration
Looking ahead, Bianca aims to focus on heritage restoration. “I want to help clients because the funding process for heritage restoration can be quite tricky. I often come across clients who want to restore family homesteads but can’t afford it. I say, ‘Do you want to hire me for a day? We can work out your mortar, and I can teach you the principles’.”
“At least then I’ve shared the knowledge, and they can add their personal touch to their family home by restoring it bit by bit on the weekends.”
Bianca loves the variety her work brings. “I enjoy heritage conservation because I can say to a client, ‘I know how to do your internal plastering, corners, brickwork, rendering. You name it, I can do it.’ And if I can’t, I’ll learn.”
More women in trades: Let’s go!
Now a Renewal SA Works Program Ambassador, Bianca is committed to supporting women in the construction industry. “I want to try and ensure we don’t lose these skills and get more women in trades. There aren’t many girls in stonemasonry. We need more!”
“I’m the only qualified female stonemason in SA, but we have two studying at the moment, and one is so close to finishing. That’s super exciting! Now that I’m the ambassador, I want to talk to schools during careers week about trades so girls know that’s an option.”
She says things are definitely headed in the right direction. “There are more women in trades than there used to be, which is nice. I definitely see more women now, and I’ve inspired a few girls I went to school with to do an apprenticeship, which is cool.”
Trades versus Uni: The stigma remains
Bianca highlighted the stigma around pursuing a trade instead of university. “When you’re at school, they push you towards SACE and university from grade 9. They need to make TAFE more of an option and more attractive. They should say, ‘Girls, if you don’t want to work with books and computers, come work outside with your hands’.”
“I’m happy to go to a school for a week and run a quick training course on everything, giving students a taste of all trades,” she says.
Ditching “pretty” to get the job done
When asked about barriers for young women entering trades, Bianca says the fact that “it’s not a pretty job” is still a big barrier. “You don’t look good doing it,” she said. “Girls are so influenced by how women look on Instagram, but I’ve never cared how I look. You have to focus on the final result.”
“It’s hard work, and it feels like hard work, but you feel so rewarded. Everyone gets used to it after a while. I keep saying ‘OHS says you need two people to lift 25kg’. That’s the rule, so anyone can do it.”
Safety first: A commitment to well-being
Bianca is passionate about sustainability in the industry, emphasising the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety stating “there’s still a stigma around safety.”
As an apprentice, when you say, “I’ve got to get my glasses and respirator, you feel judged. But you’ve got to take the time to do it. Those extra minutes will save my life in the long run, and I’ve still got a lot of things to do.”
As for the future? Bianca will be busy: “I’ve got a business to run now, and I want to be an ambassador for females in trade – a shoulder for girls to lean on when they need support,” she says.
Read about all the winners of the 2024 SA Training Awards here.
