A mum, who was told by her dad to "marry a plumber" because "they get lots of money," has revealed how she turned his advice on its head and decided to become one herself.
When Gemma Pickett was 15, and her dad asked what she wanted to study at college, she had no idea what to do - but little did he know that an off the cuff comment would end up inspiring her entire career.
Joking around, the now-30-year-old's dad told her to just "marry a plumber" because they earn lots of money, so she decided she would give it a go herself, Wales Online reports.
Gemma made the decision to go to college to study plumbing, and despite being the only woman she says she had a great time and being in a group of men didn't phase her as she grew up regularly going to work with her dad.
In fact, she did so well on her course she won the Welsh National Plumbing competition which recognised her dedication to the trade.
"When you do something you enjoy the passion is there to do your best to keep going and better yourself," Gemma said.
"Being a female I like to push the females in trade to show them that they can do it yourself. I think a lot of females hold back from the profession as they might worry they won't fit in so being a successful female in my trade will hopefully inspire other women."
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Now, the mum-of-two from South Wales is a successful plumber and heating engineer with a strong client base, and she's even just employed her first female apprentice.
"I'd definitely like to take on more females in the future definitely just to help them. If they want to stay with me or go off and do their own thing I'd be more than happy to give them the guide that they need," she said.
"There's a lot of customers out there who would prefer to have a female, especially people who are on their own, single mothers and people who have been through hell and back."
Gemma's hard work and determination has paid off as she is through to the semi-finals of the renowned Screwfix Top Tradesperson 2021 competition.
She will join over 30 other semi-finalists in the interview stage with representatives from Screwfix to try and secure a place at a two-day virtual final event in September.
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