The Queensland Government is investing $3.5 million to increase the number of women in construction and male-dominated trades.
The initiative will enable employers to address workforce skills issues and help women increasingly looking to enter male-dominated industries overcome obstacles, to both access and remain in these important sectors.
It’s expected that specific industry-led projects to get more women into non-traditional industries will be led by a coalition of industry and relevant stakeholder groups including the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).
Industries could include horticulture, automotive, building and construction, manufacturing, butchery, boiler making, electrical, carpentry, plumbing, engineering, information technology, and commercial cookery.
Queensland Housing Minister and Member for Gaven, Meaghan Scanlon, said the funding will give women the skills they need to get on the tools sooner.
“Increasing women’s participation in construction and traditionally male-dominated industries is critical to building the homes and infrastructure we need,” Ms Scanlon said.
“There are more than 1.32 million people in the construction and building industry, yet women barely make up 14 per cent of that workforce. That needs to change.”
President of the National Association of Women in Construction Queensland Chapter, Emma McCaughey, welcomed the announcement.
“It’s so important to get more women on the tools, especially with the Big Build and the portfolio of work, it’s so important to increase these percentages,” Ms McCaughey said.
“We can’t not consider 50 per cent of the population when we’ve got a resource shortage so how can we increase that attraction, that retention, the recruitment, and the promotion of women across all the construction sectors.
“Women only represent 4.8 per cent of the construction industry in trade roles and over the total construction industry only 14 per cent, so our goal over the last 30 years is to increase female participation across all sectors of the industry and we certainly welcome this initiative and funding to allow us to be able to do that.”
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