WOMEN AT WORK INITIATIVE

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:09): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about the Women at Work project.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: No doubt members in this chamber are eagerly awaiting an update on the government's 2010 election commitment to develop a promotional campaign to encourage women to access training in high demand, non-traditional industries such as mining, defence and construction. Known as the Women at Work Initiative, the Office for Women, the Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology and the Department of Education and Children's Services are joint partners in this initiative and continue to work with industry representatives to develop potential projects. Will the minister inform the chamber of the latest in the Women at Work project?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (15:10): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. We are all aware that the construction, mining and defence industries are growth areas here in South Australia. Historically, women's employment participation has been in female industries such as administration, child care, health care, education and retail, while growth industries such as construction, defence and mining have consistently low levels of female participation.

Apart from being an issue of equity, increasing the participation of women in these non–traditional areas is an economic issue. The Goldman Sachs JBWere report 'Australia's Hidden Resource: the economic case for increasing female participation' estimates that closing the gap between men's and women's employment in Australia will boost Australia's GDP by 11 per cent. According to the report's authors, other economic benefits of improving women's productivity include alleviating labour market shortages, lowering interest rates, raising income and demand, and improving public finances. That is why the Labor government made this election commitment.

I am pleased to advise the chamber that the joint partners in the Women at Work initiative have established a relationship with the Mining, Energy and Engineering Academy, which I shall refer to simply as 'the academy', and will be providing financial assistance to the Constructing Roads for a Bright Future program (Bright Future program). This program includes training for almost 40 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women. Following completion of the program, I am advised that 32 men and women will be offered positions with John Holland Construction to work on the urban superway extension at South Road, Wingfield. Fortunately, with the training under way, this program is progressing.

I remind members that these areas of work and training are in the area of non-traditional work for women. Obviously, it is going to take time to encourage women to view these as valid occupational choices, and that is why initiatives like Women at Work are so important. Not only do they allow us to publicise the economic opportunity areas, like construction, they offer for women, they also allow us to recognise barriers and develop strategies to overcome them. For example, I am advised that some feedback from the academy states that more flexible hours of training might help to increase the number of women choosing to take up this training.

This is an important lesson, and it can help to guide the development of future Women at Work projects. The Mining, Energy and Engineering Academy was established to support the competitiveness and productivity of the mining, energy and engineering industries by assisting with the industries' workforce requirements. To achieve this, the academy seeks to align the resources to develop existing employees and grow the pool of available skilled workers.

John Holland Construction is one of Australia's largest construction companies, and it is great to have a partnership with them. The training includes a 10-week pre-employment program run by the academy, including components in the following areas: things such as personal development leadership, computer training, technical training, civil construction and one-on-one mentoring and case management.

I am pleased to advise that the full-time training program commenced on 18 April and will run for approximately 10 weeks. Following completion of the course, the successful participants will commence their employment with John Holland, working on the precast stage of the project. I am advised that DFEEST's Employment Programs have contributed $50,000 towards this program. I am also pleased to contribute $15,000 towards the additional mentoring of the female participants involved in the program.

The Office for Women also funded the development of a flyer advertising the project, and I am advised that the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations contributed funding towards the project as well. The academy has subcontracted its mentoring program to a group that has a proven track record working with Aboriginal people and has worked previously with the academy and DFEEST on a similar ongoing employment project; I am told it was with Woolworths.