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Just starting out in carpentry, Rebecca Niclasen is among dozens of female apprentices benefiting from gender-sensitive training and support services at Victoria’s Holmesglen Institute in Melbourne’s southeast. Early on, Niclasen found herself highly vulnerable, without an employer and close to quitting while recovering from surgery for a pre-existing injury. A grant from the Holmesglen Foundation and help from its Apprentice Central team kept Niclasen at TAFE.

“My journey with Holmesglen has been really easy. They're very adaptive to everyone in the classroom and I love my teachers, every teacher that I've had has treated me amazingly,” says Niclasen who received the 2024 Master Builders of Victoria Inspiration Award.

The Institute believes inclusive learning environments that address the unique challenges women face, can encourage women to enrol and complete training. A key innovation is all-female classes for select construction and electrical courses providing a less intimidating training experience compared to traditional settings.

Women comprise only 15 percent of the Australian workforce in construction, with only 3 percent ‘on the tools’. By choosing trades, women substantially increase their earning capacity and job stability. 

Training in civil construction is another area targeted by the Institute to improve conditions for women. Chhunly Taing, trained at the Victorian Tunnelling Centre at Holmesglen, completing the Certificate III in Civil Construction course. During her apprenticeship with the Cross Yarra Partnership, she worked her way up through several roles on Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel project.

“I genuinely love my job. It’s not easy to tell grown men what to do. A highlight is these men telling me they love that I’m breaking barriers for their daughters and granddaughters,” says Taing.

An inspiration for both female and male apprentices, Taing was named 2022 Apprentice of the Year at the Victorian Training Awards and runner up at the Australian Training Awards. 

Barriers are also being broken away from worksites in constructions offices. Holmesglen graduate Melanie Closter drew on passion and training to pivot and then propel herself up through the sector.

“After studying the Advanced Diploma in Building Design course at Holmesglen, and working as a designer for a few years, I found I had naturally progressed into managing the projects I had designed. I love the satisfaction of being efficient, organised, and being able to solve problems,” Closter says.

She is equally candid about the challenges women face and how to overcome them. A young mum, Closter completed her Diploma and Advanced Diplomas while pregnant. She also discovered that learning from quality teachers with real world experience better prepared her for the industry. 

“I found learning from people who are industry experienced are the best people to learn from. They have made the mistakes, tried the varied ways, and been caught out in the unknowns. Holmesglen has this in spades” she added.

The Institute believes that positive role models early on can normalise diversity and inclusion for apprentices across construction trades. Inspiring her teachers and students alike, Holmesglen’s Elizabeth Jansz, Dean of Building, Construction, Design and Electrotechnology, is one of few female trades training heads in Victoria. Originally a Horticulturist, Jansz switched to teaching and now oversees over 200 employees – a number of whom are female teachers – in the Institute’s largest faculty.

Jansz has been the driving force behind Holmesglen hosting regional competitions for WorldSkills and hosting global practice sessions in 2024. A strong advocate for WorldSkills, she represents Holmesglen at all WorldSkills forums, including the recent 47th WorldSkills competition in France.

“We support women in trades by attracting more females to trades training, but also ensuring they stay on and grow in trades. While providing an inclusive training environment, we strongly encourage them to pursue further training to develop more advanced skills that can elevate their trades career and benefit industry,” says Jansz.

To discover more about how we're supporting females enter the trades industry, read more about women in trades at Holmesglen. 

This article was reproduced from Tradeswomen Australia.