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This is a report of the National Working Group on Women in Apprenticeships. The Working Group was intended to develop a strategy to increase the representation of women in non-traditional trades. The decision to establish a National Working Group on Women in Apprenticeship was taken in recognition of the current low level of representation of women in the trades labour force, and in the context of Commonwealth and State Government commitment to equality of opportunity for women. The need for action to encourage women to enter nontraditional trades encompasses both efficiency and equity arguments. A detailed analysis of obstacles to female participation in the trades suggests that the current low level of female participation is the result of a wide range of social and institutional factors, on both the supply and demand side. The Working Group consisted of members drawn from Commonwealth and State labour departments, State training authorities, TAFE, and employer and union groups. The strategy was to consist of: (1) a framework within which efforts of Commonwealth and State agencies with responsibilities in this area can be coordinated; (2) specific projects in accordance with this framework; (3) mechanisms for the ongoing coordination and monitoring of efforts in this area. The key objectives of the strategy were to: encourage community acceptance of trade training as a viable career option for women with special emphasis on those trades other than hairdressing; ensure equal access for men and women to the career opportunities offered by the trade training system; introduce specific measures designed to redress the current under-representation of women in the trades; provide a supportive environment for women who enter trade training; and bring about a significant increase in female representation in the trades by 1990, with special emphasis on those trades other than hairdressing. It was proposed that the objectives be addressed through a number of priority areas over the following three years. Efforts should focus on trades where women account for less than 50 per cent of apprentice numbers. The priority areas are as follows: (1) improving women's awareness of the trades: (2) encouraging women to apply for positions as apprentices; (3) removing barriers faced by women seeking to undertake trade-based pre-einployinent courses or to enter apprenticeship; (4) removing structural and institutional barriers to women's entry to the trades; (5) increasing the number of women in apprenticeship where Commonwealth and State Governments have the capacity/power to do so; (6) increasing the representation of women in the institutional decision-making process; and (7) instituting measures to monitor and evaluate progress.

'Women in entry level training: policy review of the 1987 report Women in Apprenticeship' is indexed at TD/ERD 87.13. Show less