Canterbury New Zealand is rebuilding from a massive earthquake in 2010. The government of New Zealand has made it a priority to get women into these jobs. Political will has made it happen. 2400 women working on the rebuild equal 17.8% of the workforce! See it here.
Showing posts with label new zealand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new zealand. Show all posts
Friday, October 23, 2015
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Re-post: Aim of expo to attract women into trades
Aim of expo to attract women into trades
Forget blokes and their "man caves". A "dream room" promotion to woo women to the engineering trades next year is to be launched by the Otago Polytechnic this month.
The tertiary institute wants to encourage more women to consider pursuing technical careers in the trades, Otago Polytechnic chief executive Phil Ker said.
A trades expo is to be held to give women the opportunity to try out a trade, while also giving them a hands-on chance to get involved with practical demonstrations of power tools and equipment.
A competition, which will focus on constructing a dream room - the female equivalent of a man cave or shed - will run alongside the careers promotion.
Polytechnic students will design the exterior structure and the best idea for the interior will then be incorporated into the final project, Mr Ker said.
Dunedin tradeswomen will build the final "dream room" at a demonstration to be held at Queens Gardens on November 23.
The trades offered promising careers for women as well as for men, Mr Ker said.
The polytechnic expo would profile successful tradeswomen and chat with lecturers and programme managers about career and study options, he said.
Ministry of Women's Affairs chief executive Rowena Phair recently launched a new initiative in Canterbury to encourage women into the trades.
There is expected to be an "unprecedented demand" for tradespeople in Christchurch during the next few years, she said.
"Now is the time to open young women's eyes to the range of career opportunities." Otago Polytechnic carpentry lecturer Jo Hare said sometimes young women pursuing trades qualification initially felt daunted by male-dominated classes; something with which she could identify.
"[It] usually passes quite quickly. I was the only woman out of 40 in the carpentry programmes I took at the polytech in 2004.
"It didn't really bother me and I wasn't intimidated ... When more women get involved in the trades I think it will eventually become less of an issue," she said.
The gender gap
• The New Zealand labour market is highly segregated - about half of all men and women work in occupations where 70% or more of workers in that industry are the same gender.
• The 2006 census found only 1% of builders, plumbers, electricians and mechanics were women. In 2009, about 13% of engineers were women.
• Gender segregation at work is a "key reason" for the gender pay gap.
Source: Ministry of Women's Affairs
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Polytechnic Campaigns for More Women in Trades
Polytechnic Campaigns for More Women in Trades |
4 November 2011
Polytechnic Campaigns for More Women in Trades
In a bid to encourage more women into prosperous trades and technical careers, Otago Polytechnic is launching a campaign to celebrate women who work in the trades and to emphasise that they offer promising careers for women as well as for men.
Otago Polytechnic Chief Executive, Phil Ker, says there is an increasing imperative nationally to train more tradespeople. "There is a significant and long-standing skills shortage in New Zealand which is of obvious concern. And compounding that situation, the country must soon focus on rebuilding Christchurch after the tragic earthquakes there. It is vitally important we make concerted efforts to increase the number of people choosing to enter the trades, and that includes women."
As part of its campaign, the Polytechnic has organised a Women in Trades Expo on campus on Thursday 24 November. This expo will give women the opportunity to try out a trade, see demonstrations of different tools and techniques, listen to speeches by successful tradeswomen and chat with lecturers and programme managers about career and study options.
To promote the campaign, Otago Polytechnic has teamed up with More FM to run a public competition centred around the idea of a Dream Room – a female equivalent of the 'man cave'. Otago Polytechnic students will design the structure and then the radio station will call for listeners to send in their designs for the interior. The winning design will be built by tradeswomen in Queen's Gardens on Wednesday 23 November. Placemakers is donating the materials for the build, and the winner of the design competition wins a $500 Beaute Pamper Pack.
"There are increasing numbers of women who have studied a trade and gone on to have successful, well-paid and rewarding careers as a result. We want to highlight this fact and encourage other women to follow suit," says Phil Ker.
Otago Polytechnic offers a wide range of trades and technical programmes: Carpentry, Construction, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Architectural Draughting, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Stonemasonry.
Women in Trades Expo
Thursday 24 November
4pm – 8pm (speeches start at 6pm)
Otago Polytechnic, L Block
Anzac Avenue, Dunedin.
Thursday 24 November
4pm – 8pm (speeches start at 6pm)
Otago Polytechnic, L Block
Anzac Avenue, Dunedin.
'Dream Room' Build
Wednesday 23 November
Queen's Gardens, Dunedin.
Wednesday 23 November
Queen's Gardens, Dunedin.
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