An Orkney teenager has bucked the trend in a male dominated trade by becoming the islands' first female apprentice electrician.

Sadie Merriman, 19, surprised family and friends with her choice of career but had known for quite a time that this was the job for her.

Her great-grandfather started the Stromness-based electrical business, R S Merriman, in the 1940s and Sadie is pleased she is maintaining a family tradition.

"I suppose it is something that is in my blood," she said. "I thought about it when I left school three years ago but at the time I felt I was a bit young to be going away to college."

Her first job, in an office, convinced her that she should become the fourth generation of her family to train as an electrician.

With Orkney Enterprise support, Sadie is working towards a Modern Apprenticeship, learning practical skills as a trainee with R S Merriman and studying on a part-time basis at North Highland College, Thurso, for an industry-recognised qualification.

She is only the fourth young woman from the Highlands and Islands to become an electrical apprentice in the past 12 years.

Sadie said: "Most of the girls I know have chosen to do things like hair dressing and media studies," she said. "But I thought that with a trade I would always be able to get a job and now that I have started I know I have made the right decision."

So has she encountered any problems as a young woman in what is traditionally seen as a man's world?

"When I am on site, some of the men coming in from other firms do a bit of a double take," she said. "And I think the lads on the course in Thurso thought I was in the wrong class until we were introduced to each other.

"Apart from that, there have been no problems at all. I enjoy the job and it is good to learn by working alongside experienced electricians."

Brian Muir, a director at R S Merriman, said Sadie had gone through a strict selection procedure, which included a test set by the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT).  

He said: "The initial reaction from most of the guys was surprise that a young woman wanted to come into the industry.  It does not happen very often, but there is no barrier in the way of women becoming electricians and she has fitted in really well."

He added that first class training supervised by SECTT during her four-year Modern Apprentice would make Sadie a valuable addition to the firm's 28-strong workforce.

Marion McGovern, SECTT's training officer for the Highlands and Islands, said two of the three previous female electrical apprentices were also from island communities - Benbecula and Skye - while the third came from Inverness.

"The girls always do well," she said. "I do not know whether it is because they feel they have something to prove, or that they had to jump so many more hurdles to get the job. But they always give it their best effort, and there are lots of opportunities after they qualify."

She added that she hoped other young women might follow Sadie's example and consider electrical work as a worthwhile career.