TradeCareers is brought to you by the Women in Trades Collective (WITC) and is supported by BCITO, Connexis, Skills, and Competenz. These are the industry training organisations that look after the apprenticeships and training you need to work in the infrastructure and construction industry.

We want to significantly increase the number of women, specifically those who have lost their jobs or who are underemployed due to COVID-19, entering the trades – with special attention being paid to Māori and Pasifika women.

At present there are only 1,653 women in apprenticeships and managed apprenticeships in the construction and infrastructure sector. This is an overall percentage of 3.2% of the total 35,428 people who enrolled between the start of 2019 and now in construction and an overall percentage of 10.21% in the infrastructure of the total enrolments to date.

Overall there are 13.5% of women in the trades including in administration roles. We think these percentages need to be a lot higher.

As part of our kaupapa to support women, our project team, production crew, design team are all women-led or owned businesses.

TradeCareers programme uses the data from its pioneering research and insights report revealing the barriers Kiwi women face when entering the building, construction and infrastructure industries. 79% of employers who took the TradeCareers survey are keen to employ women but need support to do so and 60% of them, women who took our survey, want to work in the trades Download full report here.

But employers and women are nervous about taking the first step.

Employers want:

Help finding women to hire, support to get ready for women in their workforce, and reassurance that hiring women will be great for their business. A few requested tips on ‘keeping the boys in line when a lady is on-site.’

Women want:

To know ‘how to get a foot in the door’, what a worksite is really like, if their transferable skills would be valued and what the likelihood of having a good supportive boss was.

Each toolbox includes a toolkit of resources to get you sorted. Let’s get started!

Many people have been involved in delivering this project.

Trade Careers is managed by a small project team:
Kelly Bennett — Project owner
Tessa Waters and Angela Meyer — Project Managers
Emma Donnelly — Project Coordinator
Morgana Watson — Iwi Liaison
Sam Utai — Pasifika Liaison
Amanda Williams — Employer Liaison
Faye McNeil — Video Production by Executive Beige
Tania Domett and Dr Jennie Coker — Cogo

TradeCareers has been funded by the Tertiary Education Commission Transitional ITO COVID-19 Response Projects Fund. It is an initiative of the Women in Trades Collective — consisting of BCITO, Connexis, Competenz, and Skills, the four ITO’s responsible for the building, construction and infrastructure sectors.

Women in Trade Collective:
Kelly Bennett — BCITO
Jude van Wichen Miller — Skills
Sarah Peldmanis — Competenz
Taniya Scott and Prue Feely — Connexis

Toolkit development:
Sue McNabb — Learning and Development Consultant
Ben Woodward — Copywriter
Gillian Brookes — Flexible Work Consultant
Kristy Christensen — Consultant
Tessa Waters — Script writer and plays the character “Dave”.
Akin — Website development and design.

We are guided by Te Roopu Tautoko:
Stuart Lawrence — Chair Māori & Pasifika Trades training
Laisa Pickering — Ultimate Ambassador Connexis
Colleen Upton — NAWIC Trades Representative
Elizabeth Cramer Roberts — Apprentice Electrician
Amanda Williams — BCITO business development advisor
Ana Morrison — DCE Partnerships & Equity, Te Pukenga
Josh Williams — Principal Consultant, Skills
Kylie Taffard — Chairperson Women in Trades NZ, HOD Careers Whangārei Girls High School, and EdD candidate.
Hoe kau — Education Mentor at the Mind Lab and PhD candidate
Sarah Toase — NAWIC Wellington Chapter Chair

We are grateful to the many trailblazing tradeswomen who have shared their stories that have shaped this project and will inspire the many women career seekers that follow them.

Kat Kawai, Joy Malu, Tegan Williams, Jazz Gregg-Schofield, Liz Watson, Billie McDonnell, Vee Vunga Ungounga, Nikita Porthouse, Jordy Holt, Grace and Holly Ferndale, Andrew Bellamy and Marc Rudolf.

We are supported by industry who have responded to the survey, watched the videos and shared the messaging. Without the support of trade associations, industry bodies, employers; large, medium and small the project would not have experienced the success it has.

In particular we recognise Myles Sellers who passed away on June 2, 2021. Myles’ enormous support and passion for this project and his commitment to increasing the participation of women in the trades will be greatly missed.