WaTT is it all about?

BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIERS WITH THE NEXT GENERATION OF ELECTRICIANS

WOMen AnD THeIR TRADe (WaTT) IS An eXCITInG neW InITIATIVe DeVeLOPeD BY neCA eDuCATIOn AnD CAReeRS, THe LeADeRS In eLeCTROTeCHnOLOGY eMPLOYMenT AnD CAReeRS DeVeLOPMenT In TASMAnIA.

Currently there is a very small percentage of women engaged as electrical apprentices in Tasmania and they want to change that. Their aim is to highlight the advantages of a well-balanced workforce and the great benefits that can be gained for both employers and women wanting to begin a career in the electrical industry.

In conjunction with Community Tasmania and the State Government, neCA education and Careers will provide information and insight into the opportunities that exist in the electrical industry. Over the next two years, they will help interested participants make informed decisions, and assist those taking the next steps, by helping them become job ready. They will employ a number of female apprentices directly and provide mentoring support throughout, empowering women to choose a career path in the electrotechnology industry.

The WaTT program was recently launched in Hobart. Madeleine Ogilvie MP, Minister for Small Business and Minister for Advanced Manufacturing and Defence Industries, thanked neCA education and Careers for developing the program, speaking on the benefits of programs like Women and Their Trade for the participants and the wider industry.

Also in attendance were representatives from Keystone Tasmania, The Department of education, Independent Schools Tasmania, Skills Tasmania, Tas TAFe and some of neCA education and Careers’ valued host business partners. Without the great support of host business partners, initiatives like this would not be possible.

eleven female apprentices from the WaTT program attended the launch, which was later followed by a professional development program. Guest speaker Robyn Moore gave an engaging presentation, eliciting laughs and tears from the audience as she spoke about being strong, empowered and resilient.

About the WaTT program

The WaTT program aims to give women information on the many great career opportunities available to them in the electrical industry.

The purpose is to get interested women to a point where they can make an informed decision on a future career, and be on a level playing field, so that when an apprenticeship opportunity arises, they can put their best foot forward. In neCA education and Careers’ experience, once female applicants are at this point they are well equipped to proceed with an electrical career.

The launch was a great opportunity to promote and inspire more women to consider a career in the electrical field.

Contact Group is proud to employ several female electricians as well as a number of female apprentices, who are all kicking goals and have been an asset to our company. It was great to see so many passionate and enthusiastic female apprentices at the launch, and we look forward to many more joining the industry through this important neCA initiative.

Dion Frame

General Manager, Contact Group

Keystone is proud to support WaTT, a meaningful initiative that will provide genuine career opportunities for women in the Tasmanian electrical industry. We commend the many employers who have partnered with neCA to deliver this excellent program. Keystone will actively fund and support the participants to make the most of the opportunity. To see the number of enthusiastic young women enrolled in the WaTT program in Tasmania is truly inspiring. It’s programs like this that demonstrate that we really can deliver on the challenge to promote diversity in our industry.

Karin Mathison

Chief executive Officer, Keystone At RBD electrical, we constantly strive to be diverse in all areas of what we do and how we do it.

Having diversity in our workforce, by recruiting and retaining women, is helping to build our teams culture and behaviours, and brings a balanced perspective to identifying potential problems, as well as how we solve those problems. The many different disciplines of work we do requires us to identify what skill sets and qualities will deliver the best outcomes to us as a business, ensure our staff remain engaged in their career, and provide quality outcomes to our customers. Having females in our workforce gives us a broader range of skill sets and qualities from which we can draw upon, in order to deliver these outcomes. The Women and Their Trade (WaTT) program helps to attract, retain and support females into the trade when they may not have considered it before. During their apprenticeship, the program supports and encourages females and ensures they understand their value in industry. It also provides them with mentoring and coaching to ensure they get a strong foothold from which they can launch into their career. We want and need more women in industry.

Nick Davies

Director, Southern Operations Manager RBD electrical

It’s not about quotas

The WaTT program is working to encourage women to enter the trade and make it more accessible; however, neCA education and Careers has been very clear that this is not at the expense of male applicants. The WaTT program is an additional program, that sits alongside existing programs. It does not aim to meet targets or quotas, it is not designed to push women to the front of a queue, or give any kind of unfair advantage. All positions are gained on merit.

The program aims to address the lack of female electrical apprentices in three ways:

1. Inform and provide details to both younger women still within the education system, and women in the workforce and broader community. neCA education and Careers provides an overview of the electrical industry, the breadth of the career opportunities, and the long-term career pathways that are available. 2. For those interested in pursuing an electrical career, guidance is provided on the next steps, which may include: ½ the best subjects to focus on within the school’s curriculum for those in years 10, 11 and 12; ½ pathways to Certificate II courses within the college and senior secondary system; ½ readiness assessments and associated resources to help them prepare for junior and mature-age apprentice position assessments; and ½ pathways to prevocational opportunities through the TAFe system.

This is aimed at setting participants up to be informed, job ready and employable as electrical apprentices.

3. neCA education and Careers has committed to taking on additional female apprentices and providing ongoing mentoring support, as a way of supporting them to succeed. They will also facilitate professional development and networking opportunities, such as its recent launch event, to foster a sense of community among the women in the program and increase retention rates.

In line with this, neCA education and Careers is encouraging other employers, who are planning on taking on an apprentice, to consider female apprentices as part of their labour mix. As a Group Training Organisation operating in the industry for 30 years and working with apprentices from all walks of life, they are experienced in supporting host businesses and the apprentices placed with them from sign up until they become licensed electricians. The apprentices employed through the Women and Their Trade program will receive the same outstanding levels of pastoral care.

Support

If you are interested in becoming involved in this valuable program, or if you would like more information on how WaTT can benefit your business, contact neCA Member Services on 1300 361 099.