Brianna Thirlwall had to relearn how to walk and talk before she could complete her Cert III in automotive electrical technology.<\/p>\n
“It was so, so scary because we really didn’t know if it was going to get worse or if it was going to be better,” the 21-year-old Mount Isa resident said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Brianna Thirlwell paused her apprenticeship while she was unwell. (Supplied: Brianna Thirlwall)<\/p>\n
Ms Thirlwall had post-viral inflammatory cerebellitis, which was triggered by her glandular fever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The condition is incredibly rare in adults, with only a handful of cases recorded globally.<\/p>\n
“Basically, my body started attacking my cerebellum, which controls all your fine motor skills,” she said.<\/p>\n
After being sick for a couple of months with what she thought was a bad cold, Ms Thirlwall’s speech started to slur.<\/p>\n
A lumbar puncture at Mount Isa Hospital, then a flight to Townsville was followed by weeks of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and physiotherapy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She started to recover, but it was another four months before her diagnosis was confirmed.<\/p>\n
“My legs just didn’t wanna move, so I really had to fight and figure out how to walk,” she said.<\/p>\n
“My speech kind of stayed but I had to focus on what I was saying and really think about it.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Brianna Thirlwall says her favourite thing about her job is learning new things every day.\u00a0 (Supplied: Brianna Thirlwall)<\/p>\n
‘Came back stronger’<\/p>\n
Ms Thirlwall had to pause the final year of her apprenticeship for six months.<\/p>\n
Now, largely recovered, she has completed her apprenticeship.<\/p>\n
She was last month awarded Female Trade Student of the Year at the TAFE Queensland 2025 Mount Isa Trade Excellence Awards.<\/p>\n
“To be nominated after everything that happened was a pretty good feeling,” she said.<\/p>\n
Glencore’s Pathway Programs coordinator, Kate Sutton, said Ms Thirlwall’s resilience and determination were “truly inspiring”.<\/p>\n
“She came back stronger, more focused, and more determined than ever,” Ms Sutton said.<\/p>\n
“That level of perseverance is truly inspiring, and it speaks volumes about her character.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Brianna Thirlwall says she would love to have some of her own apprentices one day.\u00a0 (Supplied: TAFE Qld)<\/p>\n
The percentage of women in traineeships and apprenticeships at TAFE in Mount Isa has risen from 8 per cent to 13 per cent over the past three years.<\/p>\n
Ms Sutton said women continued to be under-represented in trade careers.<\/p>\n
“Brianna’s journey highlights the incredible potential of women in trades when they’re supported and encouraged to succeed,” she said.<\/p>\n
“Her determination, even in the face of adversity, is a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when we invest in people and create inclusive pathways.”<\/p>\n
20 years of applications<\/p>\n
Electrician and instrument technician Kylee Frankee, 40, did not take a straight path into mining.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Growing up in Ingham and graduating in the early 2000s, Ms Frankee was expected to follow a “traditional career path”.<\/p>\n
“Back then, women working in a trade was seen as unusual, even unwelcome,” she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kylee Frankee was the first person in her family to finish high school, go to university and complete a trade.\u00a0 (Supplied: Kylee Frankee)<\/p>\n
After high school, she applied for every apprenticeship she could find.<\/p>\n
“I was knocked back for every single one of them,” she said.<\/p>\n
“But I kept moving forward. I built a life around saying ‘yes’ to opportunities that kept me close to that male-dominated work.”<\/p>\n
In 2018, after nearly two decades of persistence, Ms Frankee was finally given an opportunity \u2014 an electrical apprenticeship at the Cannington Silver and Lead Mine in north-west Queensland.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kylee Frankee has worked hard to get the job she wanted. (Supplied: Kylee Frankee)<\/p>\n
“It felt like I was breaking those generational cycles and challenging that mindset that women don’t belong in the trades,” she said.<\/p>\n
She won Outstanding Australian Tradeswoman, Operator or Technician at the 2025 Women in Resources Awards.<\/p>\n
“It gave that younger version of me a little reminder to never, ever count yourself out,” she said.<\/p>\n
‘Shifting perceptions’<\/p>\n
Ms Frankee is second in charge of the electrical maintenance crew at South32’s Cannington Mine.<\/p>\n
She said the industry had shifted since she sent out her first applications nearly 20 years ago.<\/p>\n
“More women are stepping into the trades and more workplaces are realising the strengths that come with diversity,” she said.<\/p>\n
Aware there was still work to be done, she has volunteered in school outreach programs to encourage young women to pursue careers in trades.<\/p>\n
She has also mentored Indigenous students through the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation scholarship.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kylee Frankee says she felt a rush of gratitude when her name was called.\u00a0 (Supplied: South32)<\/p>\n
“It’s about shifting perceptions on an individual level, on how people see women in the industry every day,” she said.<\/p>\n
“If I was going to give a bit of advice to men, don’t underestimate your impact on being an ally in somebody’s journey because my journey has only been made possible because men have mentored me, backed me and treated me as part of the crew.<\/p>\n
“Change comes from those everyday moments.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brianna Thirlwall had to relearn how to walk and talk before she could complete her Cert III in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99,134845,134841,134843,134844,134842,134840,134839],"class_list":["post-221711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-electrical-apprenticeship-women","tag-female-trades","tag-mining-awards-australia","tag-tafe-women","tag-trade-awards","tag-tradeswomen","tag-women-in-mining"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}