Young female tradie exposes the grim reality of her high-paying job
A young female tradition has found that highly paid construction workers often struggle with their mental health due to drinking, drug use and gambling.
Bardie Somerville, who works as a carpenter, a video uploaded to TikTok last Friday to expose the sad reality that many of her colleagues face every day.
“When I was an apprentice, I worked with this guy and I’m not kidding, he just always pulled through,” she said.
“Every Wednesday he would lose half of his tool kit because he would pawn them at the pawn shop to get him through the week.”
She said many tradies don’t know how to break their bad habits or don’t get the support they need to help them.
“Looking back, I can really see how I just continued to normalize the fact that I was in a really bloody bad place and thought that was normal,” Ms Somerville said.
Figures from charity MATES show that every second day a construction worker dies from suicide.
Construction workers are also eight times more likely to die from suicide than from an accident on the job.
Ms Somvervile said more work needs to be done to help tradies struggling with their mental health.
“Just because you’re in a difficult situation doesn’t mean you have to stay there,” she said.
Figures from construction website Service Seeking show that nine percent of Australian tradies earn more than $200,000 a year.
Tradies can earn an annual salary of $64,315 for working at entry-level positions, according to employment agency talent.com.
The challenges that construction workers face with their mental health have also been exacerbated by the current skills shortage across the sector.
A survey by Australian work boot manufacturer Steel Blue found that 54 percent of respondents said the skills shortage has had a negative impact on their mental health.
Despite the grim findings, Beyond Blue CEO Georgie Harman said tradies are seeking help by talking to their friends, family or GP.
Bardie Somerville, who works as a carpenter, uploaded a video on Tiktok last Friday to expose the sad reality that many of her colleagues face every day
“Since the survey started in 2022, more and more people are seeking mental health support, and more than 60 percent of respondents said they knew how to protect their mental health in times of stress,” Ms Harman said.
‘We need to change the narrative around depression and other mental health conditions. Taking action, getting support, talking to friends or family takes strength and courage and is such an important step to getting better.”
Australia needs 90,000 construction workers to help build 60,000 new homes across the country every quarter.
The move is part of the government’s ambitious housing target to build 1.2 million new homes in Australia over the next five years.