The NSW Government is looking at new ways to encourage more women to consider getting into the trade and construction business.

Deputy Secretary of Customer, Delivery and Transformation William Murphy says women make up just 2% of qualified trade workers in key Australian industries experiencing major skills shortages such as construction, electrotechnology and the automotive sector.

“As a modern and customer-centric government we are committed to making pathways to trades easier for our customers,” William says.

“The Department of Customer Service’s (DCS) Behavioural Insights Unit (BIU) is supporting Training Services NSW’s Women in Trades Strategy by undertaking research and testing possible solutions. It’s important we better understand what does and doesn’t work when encouraging women to begin a trade career, especially in a male-dominated workplace.”

NSW executive director of training services, David Collins, says the ‘Have Your Say’ consultation is seeking to understand what information is most important when people consider recommending a career in trades for women and girls.

“Increasing female participation in the trade workforce is crucial to the economic prosperity of NSW as women play a vital role in addressing skills shortages in key industry areas and occupations in NSW,” he explains.

“As we gather insights and test solutions, we hope this research will help pioneer new and innovative ways to increase participation of women in trades.”

The initiative will also support recommendations from the NSW Productivity Commission White Paper released on 31 May 2021 to build more pathways to trades for women which will help address trade skill shortages.

For more information on the Women in Trades Strategy, follow this link. To participate in the Women in Trades initiative, visit this link.