Keystone Turns the Key to Promote Women to Succeed in the Trades in Tasmania

Media Release

12 August 2022

Tradeswomen Australia have reported continuing success in the early stages of establishing industry connections and support for women to enter the trades in Tasmania through the program ‘Remade for Trades’ and the Workplace Diversity Project.

Janet Cribbes, CEO of Tradeswomen Australia said promoting quality pathways to employment by initiating and supporting programs that create sustainable employment opportunities in the Tasmanian construction industry is one of the most important employment building strategies providing equity for women in the trades.

Ms Cribbes acknowledged the outstanding contribution of Keystone Tasmania established as the Tasmanian Building and Construction Industry Training Board in 1990 to promote a safe, skilled and sustainable workforce in the Tasmanian building and construction industry.

Keystone Tasmania and a major sponsor of the project, is contributing $85,000 to the program.

Ms Cribbes said the Workplace Diversity Project collaborates with employers to create diverse and inclusive workplaces and are already attracting considerable interest.

The program also provides workshops for trade businesses to assist organisations become more inclusive in building their workforce and policies. For the past 25 years the number of women in the traditional trades has remained at 2% locking many women out of the opportunity to secure rewarding well paid employment.

In 2018 North West Tasmania’s youth unemployment (ages 15 to 24) rate was 11.2% this was more than twice Australia’s overall unemployment rate (5%), in December 2018.

The Tasmanian building and construction industry released the Workforce Action Plan in March 2021, with the Tasmanian Government announcing a $5 billion infrastructure investment program to deliver 25,000 jobs.

Ms Cribbes said Australia’s critical skills shortage, which is impacting on the economic recovery, is one of the major driving forces and advantages for breaking down the barriers for women to access well paid trade jobs in support of businesses.

The Workplace Diversity Project will assist in removing recruitment biases and improving employment for youth, especially women.

• It will stimulate the development of a diverse skilled workforce, equipped to meet the demands of major construction and/or energy projects in Tasmania.
• Remove employment barriers for diverse persons particularly youth, women and girls entering the construction sector.
• Support employers improve retention rates and increase the diversity of job candidates.

Dr Tanya Paterson, Tradeswomen Australia Workplace Diversity Officer said the TWA Workplace Diversity Project provides employers with the tools to enable their workplace supervisors to become aware of the value and benefits of workplace diversity to both staff and organisations.

A recruitment guide is provided to participants with actionable steps that can be implemented to diversify existing recruitment strategies.

Dr Patterson said “Six companies have already signed up for the Workplace Diversity Project including Kiely Plumbing, Sustainable Timber Tasmania, Centacare Evolve Housing, Tasmanian Forests and Forest Products Network, Temtrol Technologies, and Arbre. Major trade education facilities such as Tasmania TAFE and TMEC have been a key to the successful launch and initial start-up of the programs in Tasmania.”

In Tasmania, Tradeswomen Australia also provides an extensive range of information on employment in the trades for women and girls on its website at https://tradeswomenaus.com/

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Media Enquiries:  

Ron Smith OAM, Media Communications, Tradeswomen Australia

Mobile: 0417 329 201

Janet Cribbes, CEO of Tradeswomen Australia is available for comment

Mobile 0418 153 931