What Trade & Tech Fit Proved: Representation Isn’t Just Showing Up. It’s Letting Them See What’s Possible.
- Jenika Stubelj
- Jun 5
- 3 min read
When Georgia was in high school, she didn’t know a career in asphalt was even a thing.
Trades weren’t on her radar. Not because she wasn’t capable, but because no one ever showed her it was an option.
“I honestly didn’t even know what asphalt was,” she says, laughing. “I just needed a job, and a family member helped me out. I thought it would be temporary. But I ended up loving it so much I never really left.”
That accidental beginning turned into something bigger. Something purposeful.
Now, Georgia holds a truck licence. She operates machinery. She’s part of Amarapave’s crew, laying roads and building a future in a space still populated by men. But the reason she showed up at the Trade & Tech Fit expo this week wasn’t about what she does.
It was about what’s possible.
The expo brought together young girls and non-binary students from across Victoria, offering a hands-on, face-to-face introduction to careers in trades and technology. For many of them, it was the first time they had seen someone like Georgia in that kind of role.
And for Georgia, that visibility mattered.
“I think young people need options,” she says. “When I was growing up, I thought trades just meant plumbing, electrical, carpentry. No one tells you about asphalt. There are so many paths out there, but if you’ve never seen them, how do you even begin to choose?”
This week wasn’t just about showcasing jobs. It was about expanding what’s possible. Not just for one student. But for all of them.
That’s why Georgia is so passionate about mentoring, and why her impact stretches far beyond the asphalt.
For the past seven years, she has been a volunteer with Lord Somers Camp and Power House, a youth-led organisation that creates spaces for young people from all walks of life: students with disabilities, kids from refugee backgrounds, teenagers navigating tough family situations. Through weekend and week-long camps, Georgia helps give these young people something most of them don’t get enough of—joy, connection, and the chance to just be.
“It’s where I really learned what it means to lead,” she says. “And how important it is to support people into becoming who they want to be, not just tell them who they should be.”
That thread, the belief that everyone deserves space, options, and a voice, runs through everything she does.
So when she stood at Amarapave’s booth this week, she wasn’t there to be the face of anything. She was there because she believes access matters. Representation matters. And sometimes, all it takes is seeing someone like you doing something you never imagined you could.
She still gets mistaken for a traffic controller on site. People still assume she’s not the one operating the machines. But these days, Georgia knows exactly who she is and how much she brings.
“I’ve got two hands. I’ve got the skills. I’m here to work,” she says. “And I want other people to know they can be here too.”
Trade & Tech Fit gave students that moment. And Georgia helped make it meaningful. Not by being exceptional, but by being real.
She didn’t stand in that booth to be admired. She stood there to create options. To say, without needing a microphone: You belong here too.
Because when a young person sees someone like them doing something they didn’t think was possible, it doesn’t just change their idea of the job.
It changes their idea of themselves.
Written By: Ash MacMahon - Field Director
Quotes By: Georgia Boyle - Asphalt & Profiling Operator, Amarapave
