Young shearer Chloe Swiggs has become the first female to complete a Certificate III in Shearing in SA – and potentially Australia – having studied through TAFE SA.
The 25-year-old, who comes from a shearing family, is currently shearing about 160 sheep in a day but already has her Dad’s best tally of 276 lambs a day in her sights.
Ms Swiggs is excited to see more women getting involved in the industry and having a go.
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“I think women have been interested in shearing for years I’m just not sure whether they had been given the opportunities to jump on a stand like females today,” she said.
“Now that it is becoming more and more accepted, women are taking the opportunity to be involved.”
Chloe shore her first sheep at TAFE SA’s Willalooka Learner School she attended in February last year.
After seeing her potential she was encouraged by trainers to head ‘up bush’ to an Improver school at Oakden Hills, north of Port Augusta for extra training.
From there, she signed up to do TAFE SA’s Certificate III in Shearing, which has taught her about animal welfare, preparing combs and cutters, maintaining handpieces, shearing to a professional level and workplace safety.
She hasn’t looked back since.
She has been working with GWR Shearing Services since July, travelling throughout SA, Vic and NSW.
“Since I’ve started shearing I’ve had so many females come to me and say ‘I wish I had done that when I had the chance’ or ‘I’m really interested in shearing, but I don’t know how to start’”, she said.
“Life is too short to have a ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda’ attitude.
“Doing this course will take you places you’ve never been before and there are so many people willing to help you succeed, there really is no room for failure.
“The opportunities are endless.”
She said preparation is key to the job, which is both physically and mentally demanding.
“I physically prepare my body each day with stretching for at least 30 minutes before we start,” she said.
Eating a well-balanced diet is very important and drinking lots and lots of water and staying hydrated is a big must.
“Mentally, I make sure I prepare my work tools and work area. Being on target with the gear that I’m going to be using for the day and making sure my stand is organised and accessible, this will give me peace of mind and I am able to concentrate on the job itself.”
TAFE SA shearing and wool program co-ordinator Glenn Haynes said Ms Swiggs was recognised throughout the industry for her “amazing work ethic and the quality of her job.
Mr Haynes said she was currently the only female registered for the Certificate III in Shearing, but there were a number of females studying the Certificate II who were keen to progress through.
“When I started at TAFE SA a couple of years ago, about two out of 10 at our Learner Schools were female – that number has now doubled,” he said.
“We have made a real effort to encourage females to get involved by hosting workshops for women to give them a taste of what the industry is all about.
“I personally believe that if we can train a minimum of five females per year who end up shearing 100 sheep per day – that’s 500 each per week, 2500 between them weekly and over 40 weeks that’s 100,000 sheep.
“That’s a massive contribution to our industry.”