“It’s not the way you fall, it’s the way you learn to get up” – Ana’s Father
Ana still carries one of the biggest lessons her family gave her, and it feels like the right place to start her story: “It’s not the way you fall, it’s the way you learn to get up.” Ana shared that this was a saying she heard several times, from her father who always spoke everything from the heart.
Highlights from Ana’s Story:
Welding became more than just a job for Ana, it started a milestone turning point in her life. While there are some women who find their path early, there are others that fight like hell to build one after life has already tried to break them, this is where Ana started. For Ana, her story is not one of a straight line or a perfect plan, it is one of rebuilding. Based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Ana is a welder second year apprentice heading into her third year in fabrication engineering and boilermaking.
She found the trades was a career path that gave her focus, strength, and a way to move forward with her own two hands. The beginning of that hands-on drive for Ana started while she was growing up. She was surrounded by influences, but she shares that it was never what she thought would be part of her career goals. Her father was an industrial engineer, and her uncles worked in electrical, painting, and other hands-on jobs. She remembers being very curious as a child, watching them work, sneaking into the family car repair business, asking questions, and wanting to understand how things were built and repaired. Ana has had this drive long before she ever started in the trades. When I asked what her initial childhood dream career was, Ana said that she once imagined becoming a chef and owning her own restaurant. As her life unfolded, it was tools that ended up winning her over.
In one of the hardest seasons of Ana’s life, welding gave her something else, a way to rebuild. After years of violence, separation, and navigating family court while raising her children, Ana reached a point where she knew she needed to create a different future for herself and her kids. She heard about an event through the local union. It was an introductory night to learn about welding. From that moment on, Ana developed a desire to learn more. It was this single experience that ended up leading her right into an 8-week welding course. Sharing Ana’s enthusiasm was her daughter, right beside her, letting her know that she believes in her and supports her in all she does. That 8-week course was what changed everything for Ana.
What started as curiosity, quickly became something deeper. Ana did not just enjoy welding. She connected with it, she found something in it that steadied her. The fact that she had the support from her kids on this new path really made her unstoppable in her eyes. As Ana put it, “My space is putting on that helmet. Everything goes dark and it’s just me and melting metal and putting it together.” Coming out of survival mode, welding gave Ana a place to direct her energy, sharpen her skills, and start building a life that felt like her own again.
Her story is not only shaped by the big turning point finding welding, it is also built in the day-to-day of the work itself. In fabrication and boilermaking, Ana is learning through repetition, positioning metal, welding, grinding through mistakes, and building her skill with practice. It is hands-on work that demands patience, problem-solving, and consistency. Ana spoke about how much it matters to be shown how something is done and then be given the chance to try it, because that is where confidence is actually built.
After finishing her course, Ana went through multiple interviews and faced rejection head-on. At one point, she was told she was “too old” at 38. It was the kind of comment that could make someone walk away before they had even truly begun. Instead, she kept going. She kept calling. She kept trying, then on her fifth interview, she got the chance that opened the door to everything that came next. That perseverance was not hers alone. Ana speaks often about her children, and how deeply they are tied to her purpose. Their belief in her helped carry her through some of her hardest moments, especially when she was questioning whether this new path was really possible. One of the people who pushed her forward was her daughter, who reminded her exactly who she was when life had done its best to wear her down. That support helped Ana keep moving, and it still does. When Ana talks about her children, her pride and emotion come through immediately. She described them as her strength and motivation, the reason she keeps showing up, keeps learning, and keeps pushing herself toward something bigger.
While Ana is grateful for the opportunities she has been given, she has also been honest about the challenges that still exist. She has experienced criticism, judgment, and the kinds of comments that remind women they are often still seen as outsiders in these spaces. She has had to learn how to protect herself from that noise without letting it define her. Over time, Ana says she developed “crocodile skin.” Not because those moments do not matter, but because she knows her worth now. “I know my worth,” Ana said. “I know what I carry on my back in my shoes and you are not here to judge me. I know who I am.” There is a lot packed into that kind of confidence. It is not loud for the sake of being loud. It is built from experience. It is built from surviving enough to stop handing other people authority over your identity.
Even in the routine of the workday, Ana brings more than skill. Between the welding course and learning on the job, she has found ways to build connections with the people around her. For Ana, the day-to-day is not only about welding, it’s also about learning, encouraging others, and proving to herself that she belongs in this space.
At the same time, one of the most striking parts of Ana’s story is that her strength and resilience has not made her closed off in the ways people often expect. If anything, it has made her more compassionate. She talks about the younger apprentices around her with a kind of protective warmth “a mamma bear” personality, calling them her “baby cubs” and “little brothers.” She believes strongly that this industry does not just need tougher people. It needs more care, more patience, and more compassion for what workers are carrying with them long before they clock in. “In the construction industry,” she said, “it’s not who is the toughest and who is the knowledgeable one in there, it’s who is the compassionate one.” That perspective runs through the way she speaks about leadership, culture, and support.
Ana understands that many people in the trades are carrying far more than the work in front of them on the job. They are carrying stress, family responsibilities, financial pressure, grief, isolation, migration, and everything else life piles on when no one is looking. She believes support on the job has to go beyond training and instruction. It has to include humanity. She also knows firsthand what a difference support can make. One of the most meaningful relationships in her current work life is with a 70-year-old coworker from Chile. Sergio, who has shown her respect and appreciation while also giving her some priceless tips and training, is often sharing language, culture, and trade knowledge with someone who understands that part of her identity gives Ana a sense of belonging in a space that can otherwise feel isolating. Morning teas and lunches with Sergio turned into mentorship, and that mentorship turned into deeper confidence in her craft. He shows her the work, brings her into hands-on learning experiences, and reminds her that learning from mistakes are part of building skill.
Ana has also found strong support through her education. In her TAFE class, where she was the only female, she has been surrounded by instructors (Courtney, Rod, April, Maddie, Carly, and so many more) who believed in her and pushed her to keep growing. She speaks about them with real gratitude, especially those who challenged her, reassured her, and made it clear that they expected her to succeed. That kind of support did not just teach her the work, it reinforced that she belonged in it.
Goals/Achievements:
One of Ana’s proudest accomplishments so far was winning the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) Victorian Branch’s 2024 Woman Apprentice of the Year, a moment that stood as recognition for the work she had put in and the place she had earned in the industry. Ana also received the Apprentice of the Year award during the Empowering Women in Trades (EWIT) 2025 Gala Awards surrounded by several of her fellow trade sisters. She acknowledged Mel and the whole EWIT village for believing in her and supporting her journey. Ana is not finished, she shares that her goal is to eventually become an International Welding Inspector, and she talks about that next chapter with certainty.
Ana also shares that she wants to keep using her story to encourage other women, especially migrant women and Latinas, to step into trades and construction without shrinking themselves. Her message to them is simple, direct, and earned: “You don’t need to have it all figured out. Just start somewhere. Find your people and stay consistent and don’t let challenges or words define who you are.” That is the heart of Ana’s story, it’s not about pretending the road was easy – it wasn’t. It’s also not about acting like confidence appeared overnight – it didn’t. It’s about what can happen when a woman refuses to let pain or struggle be the end of her story. It’s about what rebuilding can look like when it is done with patience, compassion, skill, and purpose. It is about choosing to keep going, even when life has given you every reason to stop.
You can Follow or Connect with Ana at:
https://www.instagram.com/anitawelds_empowerd24
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-maria-gamero-otero-9031381b6