In a push to encourage more women and non-binary individuals to pursue careers in trades, the SuniTAFE Swan Hill campus hosted a group of year 9 and 10 girls and non-binary students last month for the ‘You Can’t Be What You Can’t See’ Women in Trades event.
Students from Swan Hill College and Tooleybuc Central School were provided with information about skilled trades, trade types and industries, along with the benefits of working in non-traditional trades.
Students were also tasked with building a light box that required the skills and tools necessary for jobs in carpentry, plumbing, engineering, and automotive electrical, guided by SuniTAFE educators who teach within each of these trades.
In addition to the hands-on workshop experiences, the students heard from tradeswomen who are already enrolled as apprentices or who are working in industry in careers which are typically male dominated and were also provided with trade education pathways options through the Skills and Jobs Centre, Head Start, and Apprenticeships Victoria.
The event was facilitated by Tradeswomen Australia, a non-profit organisation working to increase representation and retention of women and non-binary tradespeople in skilled trade roles, as well as support trade organisations to build inclusive, respectful, and equitable workplace cultures and environments.
Tradeswomen Australia Community Partnerships Manager Sarah Curley was in Swan Hill for the workshop, which she says was designed to give young girls a safe and welcoming introduction to trades careers.
“The students were given materials and basic tools and needed to use them to create a final product,” she said.
“Within those activities though, we try to talk about the trades themselves and how these practical skills and materials are used by people working in those fields as well.
“This means that they would be able to go on site and understand why someone is using a drill a certain way for example, or why they chose welding for that solution, or recognise the techniques used when putting pipe work through, and other things like that.
“We really want the students to not just engage with the activity, but to see it from a broader perspective as to how it fits into the profession.”
Women are largely underrepresented in traditional trades careers, with representation stagnating at 2-3% over the last decade with many barriers continuing to prevent girls from pursuing these career pathways.
“We’ve found that there a lot of barriers for women and non-binary individuals entering these careers,” Sarah said.
“This includes everything from a lack of information being provided to them when they’re in school in choosing their future career and a lack of exposure to the trades.
“We also see that there are a lot of stereotypes that prevent girls from joining trades careers, maybe personally, within their peer group or their family.
“Then there is the barrier of women being able to find employment in these fields and, if they do find employment, ensuring they work with employers who are inclusive and welcoming. It’s these kinds of things that we hope to overcome by working with organisations like SuniTAFE and our collaborative partners.”
Thank you to Tradeswomen Australia, along with Murray Mallee Local Learning and Employment Network, Apprenticeships Victoria, Skills and Jobs Centre, and the Head Start program for helping SuniTAFE to provide this unique opportunity to local girls and non-binary students.
SuniTAFE is committed to providing welcoming campuses for every student in every field of study. This includes encouraging women and girls to pursue a career in trades. Earlier this year, we celebrated International Women’s Day by hearing from an apprentice and employer in the engineering industry. Click here to read about how these women are navigating their roles in a male dominated industry.
Are you interested in learning a trade? Click here to see our courses in construction, plumbing and electrical, or click here to see our automotive and engineering courses on offer.