Women in all areas of the construction industry were recognised for their outstanding contributions at the 2024 National Association for Women in Construction (NAWIC) Excellence Awards, held at Tākina in Wellington on 19 July.

The awards celebrate top female professionals working both in on site and office-based roles.

Waikato-based plumbing apprentice Maria Contreras Huerta took out the coveted Apprentice Excellence Award for her ability to demonstrate a high level of potential and commitment within the construction industry.

"The awards night was honestly pretty amazing and surreal, just being placed as a finalist next to these women would have been enough," says Maria, who is in the final year of her Masterlink plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying apprenticeship at Morrinsville Plumbing & Gas.

"These women are making a huge impact in construction and paving the way for the next generation.

"I’m so proud to be representing the plumbing industry and all the female tradies. Showing that hard work pays off and not giving up on what you love even when it gets hard," says Maria.

It has been a big year for Maria, having also been selected in April as the overall Plumbing World Scholarship winner at the 2024 New Zealand Plumbing Awards - a win that saw her featured on RNZ Checkpoint and even having a song written about her on ThreeNow’s 7 Days.

Maria is also one of six apprentice members on the newly established Apprentice Representative Group, set up in 2024 to give plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying apprentices a voice in their industry.

Qualified Master Plumber Phoebe Coers, who runs her own business, Rose Line Ltd in Rotorua, received a Special Merit in the Wāhine Toa Tradeswoman Award category at the awards.

Master Plumbers chief executive Greg Wallace says this recognition is testament to Maria and Phoebe’s dedication and drive, and to the growing impact of women in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

"New Zealand has a shortage of plumbers and it is great to see women - who make up half of our population - increasingly considering plumbing as a viable and rewarding career.

"The NAWIC Excellence Awards provide an unmatched opportunity to showcase women who are thriving across the construction industry as a whole - and we are very proud to see plumbers recognised among the winners on the night."

Masterlink apprentice Georgia Simeon was also recognised as a finalist in the Apprentice Excellence category.

For a full list of Excellence Award recipients, view the NAWIC media release here: https://www.nawic.org.nz/2024-excellence-awards-what-a-night