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The plumber is a lady
Observer Reporter
Monday, April 10, 2006
Since the elevation of Portia Simpson Miller to the post of Prime Minister of Jamaica, there has been much talk about it being "woman time now". However, for one woman, her 'time' came just over eight years ago when she ventured into what is generally considered a man's field - plumbing.
Thirty-three year-old Michelle Taylor plies her trade at the Sandals Grande Ocho Rios resort where she has earned the respect of her co-workers.
Taylor, who is married with three children, started working as a plumber at the hotel in 1994 after graduating from a course in the trade at the Heart Academy in Moneague, St Ann.
"I was actually a mechanic at first," she revealed, adding that she utilised that skill in 1989 at another resort. That job lasted two years.
She said that after she left that job, she experienced the disappointment of being discriminated against for the first time in her life, as she was unable to find another job as a mechanic.
It was then that she turned to plumbing. However, she encountered the same difficulties, as on many occasions when she turned up at clients' homes or businesses she was turned back with a simple "Thank you".
In the few cases when she was not rejected, Taylor said the clients would watch her keenly to ensure that she really knew what she was doing.
Male customers, she said, would give her the hardest time, as they would hang around and question her step by step until the job was done.
Eventually, she turned to Sandals, applying to work in the engineering department as an air conditioning technician and was given the job. However, she did not like the job and after a few months opted to work as a trainee plumber.
At last Taylor seemed to have found her calling, because she found new confidence, particularly after successfully making repairs to the plumbing at the hotel general manager's house on her first day at work.
Since then, her ability has not been questioned.
"My husband and three kids are very supportive," she explained, especially when it's time to perform my homely duties."
Her husband, she said, does some part-time plumbing and helps her out when she has a lot of jobs on hand.
Having gained the respect of her peers, Taylor said she intended to go back to school soon to study mechanical engineering. This, she believes, will earn her the respect that she yearns for when she returns to the world outside tourism.
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