By Marylene Iapichino
Published on 16 Mar 21 @ 7:32
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“I always wanted to do jobs that I liked”, poses Florbela Gil, recently certified plumber by the AFPA training center from Nice (Alpes-Maritimes).
Trades, she had many. First military paratrooper within the Portuguese army, her country of origin, she then passed the competitive examination gendarmerie and worked for ten years.
“I no longer felt really useful and I wanted to see something else”, she explains to talk about her arrival in France in the 2000s. Country where she intends to become conductor, bus or truck, taking advantage of all his permits in the army.
Personal care …
It is ultimately a combination of circumstances that totally deviates her from this career on the roads. She becomes family life assistant taking care of an elderly woman for three years.
Then, she decides to obtain an official training of this profession, which she passes within the AFPA of Nice then continues in this profession. She stops everything at the birth of her second child, which she takes care of until she is six years old.
The little one being autistic, she struggles to educate him: “in fact, he runs in all directions” she says, laughing.
… to the plumbing
Once the school accepts her youngest child, she sets out in search of a new profession.
“I have always liked the world of construction sites”, she who helped her parents in the construction of their house then looks at the training offered by AFPA. It will be the plumbing.
Serge Koehl, the trainer, sees her arrive for her first day on May 26, 2020. The third woman in her 30-year career.
In France, only 2,2% of plumbers are women.
Lack of cloakroom and sanitary facilities for women
“For me it’s not a problem, a trainee is a trainee, whether he is a man or a woman, he is treated the same way,” he says.
The only adaptation to be made is the layout of the building. Usually only accommodating men, there was no locker room and sanitary facilities reserved for women.
Within her promotion, Florbela Gil gives her all. She who has the spirit of competition finds it perfectly to try to make the best weld.
“She still took longer than the others to weld steel” tempers the trainer. “Oh no, don’t say that,” exclaims the plumber, laughing.
The only warning was on handling: it’s a job where you have to carry heavy loads, “but I’m going, that doesn’t scare me”, assures the former soldier who never stopped playing sports.
All the more so as she assures us, “if you lack muscle, you can compensate with your head and find tips. “
An application motivated by its trainer
So when Pascale gerard, director of social innovation and professional future at AFPA’s national headquarters, sends an email to all the trainers to inform them of the creation of a competition aimed at promoting women in men’s occupations, Serge immediately spoke about it to Florbela.
Both fill out a questionnaire. They are in total 190 women within the network of AFPA training centers to compete for these seven 7 trophies with a check of 1,000 €.
An “exceptional” woman
On February 15, 2021, when Florbela has just finished her final exam, she receives a call.
Pascale Gérard herself informs her that she won the “exceptional” price as a pioneer woman leading the wayyears a profession where women are particularly rare.
“I was very happy, I had never won anything at all. When I hung up I even wondered if it was a joke ”recalls the big winner.
The first one she calls to announce the news is Serge, “super proud and happy for her. ”
A trip to headquarters in Paris
The icing on the cake, they are both invited to come and collect the trophy, on March 8, 2021, international women’s rights day, at AFPA headquarters, in the presence of Myriam El Khomri, former Minister of Labor.
–“We went to take pictures of the Eiffel Tower to make the other trainees in the training bitch,” they laugh.
An adventure which reinforced the bond between the trainer and his student.
Ambassador of the profession
Florbela has since become an ambassador within AFPA. A role that she takes to heart to encourage women towards the path of‘independence and personal development.
She is called upon to speak at conferences to tell her story. “I was even contacted by a French teacher in Brussels who wants me to speak at a distance in front of her students. ”
Feminist consciousness ahead of its time
From a young age, Florbela Gil, a Portuguese who arrived in France in the 2000s, became aware of the inequalities between women and men.
She quickly realized that her primary objective would be her independence, a creed her father kept telling her and above all a very personal observation:
“I saw my mother doing everything at home and my father who was violent when it was not done as he wanted. I quickly understood that it was important not to depend on a man and to be able to leave. whenever you want. “
Financial independence above all
From her first salaries with the army, the young woman bought an apartment. And when she realizes that her then-husband tends to become like her father, she sets aside money in secret until she has enough money to drop everything.
“Above all, the most important thing to say to women is that they must have an individual account and put money aside, you never know what can happen, you always have to be able to leave”, reminds everyone this combative woman who would like to inspire little girls.
Today graduated as thermal and sanitary installer, she would like to go out on her own and why not one day “steal Serge’s place”.
She has already received offers for construction sites and feels confident in this new path. This passionate about work assures her, “if I didn’t have a family, I could work 24 hours a day.”
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