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THE NAWIC QUEENSLAND WOT 11% STRATEGY - equalising the Queensland building plan by Radmila Desic AM Senior ICT Investment Consultant, Queensland Government Customer & Digital Group & NAWIC Chapter WoT Committee Member and 2004 Crystal Vision Award Winner (QLD)
In 2015 NAWIC Queensland invited a variety of stakeholders to discuss and strategise ways to improve engagement with apprentices and tradeswomen, how to better support them and how to attract more women and girls to trade careers. As a result, the Women on Tools (WoT) Advisory Committee was formed and within a year had developed a strategic plan for attraction, engagement and advancing the interest of women in trades. In 2016 the WoT Committee wrote a white paper to the Queensland State Government proposing several initiatives including a target of 11% participation of females in frontline roles on all state government building and construction sites. The State Government agreed to potentially review the procurement policy if the WoT Committee could develop a strategy to support the industry with creating a pool of female applicants, improving the culture and supporting the existing tradeswomen workforce. As a result, the 11% Strategy was born, which is a holistic strategy focusing on six key priorities: 1. Attracting and retaining women in apprenticeships and traineeships. 2. Developing industry pathways for women in paraprofessional and professional careers. 3. Repositioning women as employees of choice in non-traditional careers.
4. Passport to Diversity. Changing the industry culture. 5. Industry commitment to gender equality and accessibility to the trades. 6. Recognising the skills of women already working in the industry. A recent update to the Construction Skills Queensland - Women in Construction Report1 has seen a 50% increase in apprenticeship uptake since actions from the 11% Strategy were implemented in Queensland. The WoT Committee has reached many key milestones and achievements, some of which are: • The launch of an online Diversity and Inclusion Awareness training module which was created by tradeswomen in partnership with TAFE Queensland Skills Tech and with input from a Bond University professor and industry stakeholders. We encourage you to jump online and have a go. This training can be delivered as a toolbox session on site. • Development and implementation of the Male Allies Program, in partnership with emberin, which is an online structured mentoring program for men. • Development of the Diversity and Inclusion Kit to support employers’ recruitment strategies and provide targeted information to female applicants wanting to get into the industry. • Engagement with hundreds of school students providing them with a range of activities including
1. CSQ 2021, Women in Construction - A Rising Trend 2021, CSQ, <https://www.csq.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Women-inConstruction-2021.pdf>
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THE NAWIC JOURNAL
