{"id":33584,"date":"2025-07-07T14:12:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T04:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=33584"},"modified":"2025-07-07T14:12:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T04:12:04","slug":"new-project-in-the-hunter-to-help-women-access-critical-industry-careers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2025\/07\/07\/new-project-in-the-hunter-to-help-women-access-critical-industry-careers\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW PROJECT IN THE HUNTER TO HELP WOMEN ACCESS CRITICAL INDUSTRY CAREERS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Albanese Government is partnering with local businesses to create pathways for women to enter traditionally male-dominated industries, with the launch of the&nbsp;<em>EmpowerHer Pathways: See what you can be&nbsp;<\/em>project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The project is part of the Building Women\u2019s Careers (BWC) program and will be delivered in partnership with the Network for Educational Workplacements,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>EmpowerHer&nbsp;<\/em>will work with industry partners to create gender-inclusive opportunities in the renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, construction and technology sectors in the Hunter region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Women currently make up less than 8% of all female apprentices in male-dominated trades. Fewer than one third of apprentices in all trades are women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>EmpowerHer Pathways<\/em>&nbsp;will promote non-traditional career paths for women, particularly school leavers and marginalised groups, by addressing real and perceived gender and industry specific barriers, by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>implementing workplace policies<\/strong>\u00a0that encourage take-up of flexible hours and parental leave arrangements<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>creating a mentoring network<\/strong>\u00a0to support women\u2019s entry, retention and career advancement in these fields<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>establishing a<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>continuous feedback loop to gather data<\/strong>\u00a0on participation rates, training completions and employment retention to support ongoing evaluation and sustainability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The project will access existing networks through a partnership with the Aboriginal Advancement Alliance, AGL Macquarie, Ampcontrol, Gamuda Berhad and John Holland, Hunter Multicultural Communities, Muswellbrook Shire Could, Regional Development Australian, Singleton Council and TAFE NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The BWC program, funded under the $22.7 billion&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/aus01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffuturemadeinaustralia.gov.au%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CJarrod.Melmeth%40aph.gov.au%7Ceb3bf9b1e549467ce25f08dd9bf87efd%7Cf6214c153a9947d1b862c9648e927316%7C0%7C0%7C638838213764031730%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Dpx2onlxH5sUmANRWVBCqVPVlCnWFMDbGvwwrW22Jn8%3D&amp;reserved=0\">Future Made in Australia<\/a>&nbsp;package, is delivering 20 partnership projects that address barriers for women entering, remaining and advancing in the traditionally male-dominated industries of construction, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and digital and technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Amanda Rishworth:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEnsuring women have access to equal career opportunities in all industries and sectors is part of our commitment to closing the gender gap and addressing our current skills shortage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThrough the EmpowerHer project, we are actively addressing the very real gender and geographic barriers impacting women from entering these sectors and introducing new pathways that make workplaces safer and more equitable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe understand that you can\u2019t be what you can\u2019t see, and this project will focus on reaching women in the Hunter at a grassroots level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe EmpowerHer project is taking a holistic approach at attracting and retaining new staff, through direct policies, workplaces mentors and partnerships and increasing training and participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBy working in partnership with industry stakeholders across construction, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and digital and technology \u2013 we are working to ensure industry barriers are addressed from all angles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Member for Newcastle, Sharon Claydon:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis project isn\u2019t just about getting women through the door \u2013 it\u2019s about ensuring they are celebrated and seen as leaders in these fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe know that diversity drives innovation and strengthens workplaces, and&nbsp;<em>EmpowerHer Pathways<\/em>&nbsp;will help ensure that women gain the skills, confidence, and connections they need to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs someone who\u2019s long championed gender equality, I\u2019m incredibly proud to see this project take flight.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Albanese Government is partnering with local businesses to create pathways for women to enter traditionally male-dominated industries, with the launch of the&nbsp;EmpowerHer Pathways: See what you can be&nbsp;project. The project is part of the Building Women\u2019s Careers (BWC) program and will be delivered in partnership with the Network for Educational Workplacements, EmpowerHer&nbsp;will work with &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2025\/07\/07\/new-project-in-the-hunter-to-help-women-access-critical-industry-careers\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;NEW PROJECT IN THE HUNTER TO HELP WOMEN ACCESS CRITICAL INDUSTRY CAREERS&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33584"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33585,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33584\/revisions\/33585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}