This industry is a great place for people that want to be bold, take risks and live an interesting life.
The feeling of accomplishment on the water when you're running a boat and you know it's running right and you're confident in your work, that is the best.
I love it.
I thrive on variety.
I've always wanted to do something that kept me interested and keep me going.
Coming to Australia, I was hoping to build a life and find a career here, and I found that in boating.
Every single day, it puts a smile on my face to think that, you know, you give those memories and moments to someone else who's going to experience all those great things on the water.
With boating, you're like, can I make a career out of this? And a hundred percent, you can.
I look back on my time in this industry, and I've worked, lived, and travelled to more than forty countries, I've met so many incredible people, I have these things that I can look back on and be proud of.
In my seven years in super yachting, I learned and grew so much personally, professionally, that has really helped me with my role now at Chapman.
I'm Head of Marketing and Development.
I do all of the marketing throughout the business, I look after a lot of our huge events that we do every single year.
It's just always exciting.
I’ve done some experiences that most people would never do in their entire life and that's all thanks to this industry.
I always thought I was going to work on cars, until the day I walked into the marina and I spoke to a gentleman there and he goes, “what are you interested in working on?”
and I said, “cars.”
He goes, “I'll tell you the difference between boats and cars.
From the trailer to the boat and anything in between, by the end of your apprenticeship, you'll be able to fix everything.”
And that captured me, and that's why I wanted to be marine mechanic.
I fell in love with a yacht rigger, and we've been running the business for the last three years together.
Before owning a boat trimming business, I had worked in corporate for about twenty years.
I'm most proud of bringing my skills and my strengths to the business, apply it every single day.
But also, I'm learning new skills, gaining confidence in things that I never would have done before.
I think the best bit about being a trimmer is working on things that are people's passions.
There's a real energy about it.
There's a level of excitement.
It's nice to make that phone call and say, you know, “come on down, pick up your boat”.
That's a nice feeling.
I feel really proud of myself, when I talk with my friends that are actually, like telling me, “that's crazy - you're building boats!”
I come from Kenya, that's where I call my home, and I moved to Australia about six years ago.
The life of an international student is not easy, and I feel like I've been supported all the way with everyone, from my school to my employer.
What amazes me is that in the last twelve months, I've been able to achieve so much.
I can do the upholstery, do wiring, cutting fibreglass, doing the trims, without having any prior skills.
I’m proud of myself, and also surprised, like, I can do it myself.
Little me used to stick my head in the engine room.
My pop would go around and do his engine checks, and I’d pretend to know what I was looking at.
There's definitely something in me that needs to know how things work.
Coming to Riviera allowed me to pursue that career, and gave me the opportunities and support to feel comfortable learning, and getting through my apprenticeship confidently.
I've recently just joined the quality team.
I'm really honoured to be part of that job.
I've come so far from me pretending to know what I was doing, to actually knowing every component in that engine room.
I would tell little me, to follow my dreams.
You just need to back yourself.
I think one of the things I love most about this industry is that it is very collaborative, it's collegial, it makes it a fun place to go to work.
So straight out of uni, there was an opportunity to get involved with sales.
So then an opportunity came up with Club Marine going back to 2015, now.
As they say, I haven't looked back.
I had to learn a lot about insurance, but I knew a lot about marine.
And then I’ve just taken on the national senior role in the senior management team.
I feel a great sense of pride when we can be there for our customers in those challenging moments, the moments that matter.
There is really options across the marine industry to go as far and wide as what you want to, and my one piece of advice would be is, take the leap, jump in feet first, there's a lot of support, and a big net there to catch you.
For me, now, I feel like a found my place and have a secure future.
It's one of the few trades where you can learn a skill, build credibility, build a reputation, and build a whole livelihood around that skill.
I want to be that person that younger tradespeople can look up to and go, “well, she did it, why can't I?”
Put your head down, work hard, and anything is achievable.
The magic of the marine industry is that when you lift one person up, you're lifting everyone up.
I feel that I've made the right decision with my job every time I go out on the water.
It's unexplainable.
It's just great. It really is great.
