Amanda Woods is a woman on a mission to find 40 jobs for 40 apprentices from 40 schools in the next 40 weeks – the catch being that all prospective tradies are young women from Melbourne’s north.
A tradie herself, Ms Woods is manager of the Women in Trades project developed by not-for-profit training organisation APlus Apprentice and Trainee Services, based in Northcote. From there it has served Melbourne’s north for more than 30 years.
The new program was launched by Higher Education and Skills Minister Nick Wakeling last week and will introduce teenage girls in years 10-12 to the wide world of trades, giving them a chance to choose an apprenticeship as a career option.
Ms Woods will set out in a purpose-built trailer that holds all she needs to speak at careers nights and jobs expos, focusing on four apprenticeship sectors: building construction, automotive, horticulture and engineering.
She says a major focus of the new program is building strong links with industry and encouraging employers to put on and retain female apprentices.
Having spent some years as a teacher in the TAFE sector, Ms Woods says she has done plenty of surveys of fellow female tradies and apprentices about what barriers stand in the way of a greater take-up of trade skills by women.
“I asked them what would sell this program – the tools, the car, the money?
“The overwhelming response was confidence and independence,” she said.
Mr Wakeling said less than 10 per cent of traditional apprentices were currently women.
“If you take out hairdressing – a field dominated by women – the number of female apprentices drops to less than 6 per cent,” Mr Wakeling said. “The Women in Trades project engages with students and employers to address the current gender imbalance.”
The Women in Trades project was seeded with a $100,000 innovation grant from the state government.
