Beth Jones does not mince her words when describing her first apprenticeship experience in 2020 as a mechanical fitter.

"I say to people if you could imagine what hell would feel like, that's what it felt like to me," she said.

She's now added her voice to a campaign for stronger regulations to protect apprentices' mental health and address a hazing culture mental health advocates say has gone on far too long.

Beth Jones loved mechanics but says the culture at her workplace was toxic. (Supplied: Beth Jones)

Ms Jones was thrilled to start her apprenticeship at the age of 20 at the South Australian mine site where she had dreamt of working since childhood.

She said that passion was quickly tainted by regular sexual harassment and sabotage of her work.

She said male apprentices were also subjected to pranks, including the use of overhead cranes to hold essential worksite tool belts out of reach.

But as the only female apprentice, she felt especially targeted.

"I was having daily panic attacks," she said.

"I constantly went through a rollercoaster of [thinking], 'This is horrible, I want to die' … and then I would go, 'Oh, wait. Maybe it's all in my head.'"

Beth Jones says she had a positive experience during her second apprenticeship. (Supplied: Beth Jones)

She said the mental health impacts were severe and ongoing, but she was happy to have found another supportive workplace to complete her apprenticeship.

Now a project officer for the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, Ms Jones works to encourage women in trades, many of whom have suffered similar experiences during their apprenticeships.

"I haven't met an apprentice who hasn't gone through hazing before," she said.

A push for change

Hazing, or harmful workplace bullying as a form of "initiation", is a widespread issue.

A strategic review into the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System released earlier this year found three-quarters of apprenticeships end due to "workplace related issues", particularly "unsafe workplaces, a toxic work culture, or being treated as simply 'cheap labour'".

The report noted inaction on workplace culture has been estimated to cost the Australian economy $8 billion each year.

Barry Du Bois says legislation creates cultural change. (Supplied: Barry Du Bois)

Television presenter and R U OK? board director Barry Du Bois worked in the construction industry for 30 years and said the hazing culture in the 1980s was "horrific".

"I was stripped naked, painted in pink primer and tied to the scaffolding on a main road … I was humiliated," he said.

Last month, he travelled to Canberra to lobby politicians for a national strategy to address the issue, including hazing.

He wants government incentives paid to employers for taking on apprentices to be tied to "enforceable standards" around workplace culture.

"This'll just help to build a culture, and the people that don't work under those standards won't last in the industry," he said.

He is particularly concerned by national suicide rates in the construction sector, which industry mental health charity MATES puts at one worker every second day.

Barry Du Bois (left) working as a builder in 1979. (Supplied: Barry Du Bois)

Generations affected

Generations of apprentices have cut their careers short, contributing to a major shortage of tradespeople required to reach housing targets.

Wodonga resident Kath Howse has spent years rebuilding her life after experiencing extreme hazing as an apprentice electrician in the late 1970s.

Kath Howse left her trade due to poor culture, and now works as a massage therapist. (Supplied: Kath Howse)

"I got set upon by three guys who were determined to strip me and hang me out the window on one of Adelaide's busiest streets," she said.

"I saw apprentices shoved in air conditioning ducts so their legs hung out into space … I saw them have pipes put through their clothes and almost … crucified up on air conditioning ducts."

She left the industry in 1994.

"I saw it go on for years and years and years where apprentices were just treated as cheap labour and a waste of space," she said.

Beth Jones was named SA Apprentice of the Year for her work at Pelican Point Power Station. (Supplied: Beth Jones)

Beth Jones said she was living proof that supportive workplaces brought positive outcomes.

Last month, she was named the 2025 South Australian Apprentice of the Year by the SA Skills Commission.

She hopes telling her story will lead to stronger penalties for hazing and harassment.

"I would really want to see people and companies, doesn't matter who they are, be held accountable for this sort of thing … because it's absolutely disgusting."