The government of South Australia is developing new targets to increase women’s participation in construction trades and on-site roles within South Australian government major projects, and is looking for feedback on what this should look like.
South Australia faces significant workforce pressures, with up to 20,000 additional workers needed to deliver major government and private sector projects.
Despite strong industry growth, the sector continues to experience low apprentice transition and completion rates and a very low representation of women in trades, where female participation is around 2–4 per cent.
Data shows that women remain underrepresented in construction apprenticeships, qualified trades and onsite roles. Improving women’s participation presents a major opportunity to address workforce shortages and strengthen industry diversity.
The SA government has requested that Industry Advocate John Chapman prepare Women in Construction participation target/s which will be subject to approval by Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis. They are expected to be embedded in the Tailored Industry Participation Plans (TIPPs) for government construction projects above $50 million.
TIPPs are developed collaboratively between my office and the relevant government agencies and currently include targets for labour hour, apprentices, trainees, long term unemployed and Aboriginal workers.
Feedback is being sought on the scope, design, timeframes, implementation considerations, potential support, and risks and opportunities.
The survey is available at: https://yoursay.sa.gov.au/womeninconstructiontargets
