Rebecca Dennien is passionate about encouraging girls and women into the building and construction industry and has personally experienced some of the great opportunities available.

From five years ago, when she was driving dump trucks in Moranbah while studying construction via distance education, late last year Rebecca started her own construction business with her freshly acquired builders licence.

Her business ‘Bestruct’ offers construction, project management and contract administration.

Rebecca’s journey into the construction industry has had some twists and turns but also many opportunities.

Not long after finishing high school, Rebecca secured a position drafting survey plans for a local business before moving onto drafting houses elsewhere. Finding herself at one point without a job, she accepted a receptionist position with a commercial construction company. That was the start of her very rapid exposure into the world of construction.

Rebecca spent four and a half years working for Matrix Constructions starting as the receptionist and finishing up as a Project Engineer having completed three commercial construction projects and three Certificate IV’s in her related field.

She won a ‘Supporting Women Scholarship’ from the Queensland Government in 2013 which helped fund her Associate Degree in Construction (Major Management), which she completed while operating dump trucks in central Queensland.

When I completed the study in November 2015, I had no idea what I would be doing for the next 5 years but almost exactly a year later some previous work colleagues were chasing contract administrators for work in Cairns.

Rebecca comes from a whole family of builders, having joined her dad at a young age on his businesses residential building sites in her steel cap boots.

“My brother is a qualified carpenter as well and while our paths were a little different to get qualified in our fields, we all love the Industry we work in.”

As an active member of Women in Construction Far North Queensland, Rebecca enjoys creating events that enable education, mentoring and networking for current and future women in the industry.

“The opportunities for women in construction are so varied nowadays.

“I know women working or running their own businesses in architecture, civil engineering, building design, builders and interior designers. As my sister reminded me recently, not all women want to be screeding concrete or fitting off electrical each day; there is a place for all women in construction if they are truly passionate about it.”