Painter and Decorator - Debbie Greig

Debbie Greig,
Age 19

Qualifications
SVQ Level 2 in Painting & Decorating

What encouraged you to join the construction industry?
I really enjoyed art, craft and graphics at school and the hands-on aspect involved. I then helped to decorate my cousin's house and decided that painting and decorating was where I saw my future.

What were you doing before?
I finished school, in the 4th year and then spent a year and a half trying to get onto an apprenticeship - I was determined! I worked in a restaurant in the mean time.

What do you do day-to-day?
I do lots of different things every day. I work both indoors and out and on projects varying from domestic houses to office blocks and retirement homes. My tasks vary from painting walls and ceilings to window frames and doors.

What's it like working in a man's world?
Its great to be honest, I don't get treated any differently to my male colleagues and often find that I get more opportunities because if for example if an elderly person needs some painting done they seem to prefer to have a female on the job and in their house.

Good bits and bad bits about your job?
The best bit of the job is seeing your finished work, as you get a real sense of achievement. I also like meeting new people which we get to do every day. The bad bits include early starts as I don't like getting up early!

If you were to recommend your job to someone else, what would you say?
It would be great profession to get into if you like variety, working with people and have good communication skills. Also being creative and having confidence in your ability will see you far. Dot let anyone put you off and treat male colleagues in the same way as you'd want to be treated by them - you don't want to be treated differently and neither do they!

Where would you like to take your career in the future?
With a bit more experience I'd eventually like to start up my own business. There's so many different routes I could go down though, I enjoy meeting and dealing with people so have also thought about completing an HND in Painting and Decorating which would then allow me to become a tutor and teach other people that are coming into the industry.