Tradeswoman of the year

Davis station diesel fitter and mechanic, Amy Chetcuti, won ‘Tradeswoman of the Year’ at the Empowering Women in Industry gala awards night, held in Chicago in September. Amy has been working in the trade since 2010 and in Antarctica since October 2018.

Amy completed an apprenticeship in her early 20s and built up her experience working with vehicles and equipment in the fields of logistics, earthmoving, construction, mining and snow sport. Her career has taken her around Australia, and to New Zealand, Hong Kong and now Antarctica.

“I enjoy the variety the trade brings. There’s different machinery, locations, people, and different problems to solve. I get great satisfaction from troubleshooting faults and seeing a non-functional machine returned to action,” she said.

At Davis, Amy is responsible for operating and maintaining the station’s power generation facilities, and maintaining and repairing mechanical plant and equipment, including portable generators, pumps, 4×4s, over-snow vehicles, earth-movers, trailers and cranes.

Accepting her award via a video link from Antarctica, Amy encouraged other women to continue to unite and empower each other, and break down stereotypes. Her advice: “let your work do the talking”.

“Don’t be afraid to back yourself and your abilities. The moment that I stopped doubting and second guessing myself, was when I really started to succeed,” she said.

Wendy Pyper

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