Apprentice fitter and turner Aisha Smith represents a new generation of women choosing manufacturing trades over traditional career paths, bringing fresh perspective to precision machining in a male-dominated industry.

The Queensland-based apprentice works with lathes, milling machines, and CNC equipment, crafting components that meet exacting specifications.

“I’m working on lathes, I’m working on milling machines, CNC machines. And then after that, I’m sometimes putting those components together if they don’t require welding—small motors, small pumps,” said Aisha. “My job isn’t exactly fabricating things. It’s more machining the fabricated parts down so that they’re within tolerance to the drawings or requirements.”

Aisha’s journey to manufacturing came through an unexpected detour from her original academic aspirations during the COVID pandemic.

“Growing up I was dead set on going to university. I was absolutely adamant that I was going to study criminology, psychology. Right before I started exploring manufacturing, I was pretty dead set on being a crime scene investigator,” said Aisha. “My school offered trade tasters so you could go experience different trades one day a week, and from there I decided I wanted to do diesel fitting.”

For Aisha, the mechanical environment resonated with childhood experiences, creating an immediate sense of belonging.

“Diesel fitting, to me, just felt like home. I’m a rural girl. I spent a lot of my childhood out in Charters Towers, where my grandfather had a bunch of old rusty trucks and horses,” said Aisha. “I was talking to my mum about it, and she said, ‘Well, you’ve got the brains, girl. Why don’t you try a bit of both? Try machining.’”

Now in her third year of a four-year apprenticeship, Aisha finds deep satisfaction in the tangible results of her work.

“I very much enjoy the familiarity of it. All the smells and everything I’m working with reminds me so much of home that it actually keeps me motivated. At the same time, I love how there’s always a new experience, new jobs, new learning opportunities for me.”

As a female tradesperson, Aisha faces both challenges and unexpected benefits in her work environment.

“There are pros and cons to being a woman in manufacturing. One of the very obvious cons is you’re a minority in this field,” said Aisha. “You have to put on this tough persona, you have to work twice as hard just to get respect. Yet one of the best parts about being a woman in manufacturing is the acknowledgement and recognition.”

While focused on completing her apprenticeship, Aisha has already set her sights on further education.