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This report presents findings from a study of gender segregation in apprenticeships in England. The study is part of research undertaken for the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) investigation into gender segregation in the construction, engineering, plumbing, information technology (IT), and childcare sectors. The report explores what employers and young people perceive as the barriers and opportunities to pursuing careers in non-traditional occupations. The research was conducted during the first half of 2004 and focused on apprenticeships. The research aimed to: explore how far employers and young people are aware of gender segregation in occupations and whether they believe it to be a problem; identify the costs and benefits to young people of pursuing careers in nontraditional occupations; explore what employers and young people think are the opportunities and barriers to pursuing training and careers in non-traditional occupations; identify what would help employers and young people to make non-stereotypical choices; and provide evidence and information for change in policies and practices. Key findings include: the majority of employers interviewed believed that recruiting more young people of the non-traditional sex into their sectors would help solve skills shortages; 80% of girls and 55% of boys said they would or might be willing to learn to do a non-traditional job; and 81% of girls and 58% of boys said that both males and females could be equally good at plumbing. The findings indicate interest from young people in non-traditional work and from employers in creating a better gender mix than the current situation. Although this suggests an openness to change, the research also reveals a wide range of barriers to widening choices in practice. The report recommends a holistic and co-ordinated approach to policy formation that takes into account the various roles currently played by schools, providers and other organisations. Show less

[This report] shares what the Ministry and its Canterbury partners have learnt over the past two years. Following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes, data showed a significant negative impact on women's employment in Canterbury. This report discusses how the work of the Ministry and its partners has led to increasing numbers of women training and working in trades in Canterbury. This report identifies five actions that have worked to increase the numbers of women in trades jobs.

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This report outlines the activities and findings of a project undertaken with the broad aim of identifying strategies for increasing career opportunities for women. The project sought to identify: (1) goals for women and girls' representation in emerging industries, industries which are non-traditional for women and occupational areas offering strong employment prospects; (2) strategies to achieve these goals; and (3) performance indicators for these strategies. Consultations were undertaken with a small number of the Victorian Industry Training Advisory Bodies (VITABs) through which Access Training and Employment Centre (ATEC) sought to identify strategies which have been successfully introduced, or which could be initiated within particular industries to improve access and outcomes for women. A particular focus of the project was on the availability of employer-supported and/or funded training opportunities to encourage and facilitate both women's entry into industries with employment opportunities and skill needs and the movement of women employed at lower qualification, skill and earnings levels into positions with higher remuneration. Show less

Lecturers are not only required to possess knowledge, but they also must have the skills to deliver knowledge using different teaching methods so that the delivery of knowledge [is] more easily planned and delivered. If one possesses great knowledge [it] will not guarantee him or her to be an effective deliverer, particularly in engineering programmes where not only classroom delivery but also workshop practices [are involved]. Engineering subjects can not avoid the use of machinery and equipment. Because more and more women [are] engaging as lecturers in the mechanical field, particularly in polytechnics that traditionally involve males, a study was conducted to identify the competencies of female lecturers in polytechnics during their session of mechanical workshops module, and to identify whether there are differences in competencies between male and female lecturers in handling machines during the workshop sessions.

This study employed the survey method. The population of this study comprised 225 male and female lecturers of [the] mechanical department from three polytechnics, of which 171 had responded giving a response rate of 76 per cent. Since this study is not a replication of any previous studies, the questionnaire was developed through literature review. The questionnaire was pre-tested on 15 respondents giving the overall alpha of 0.812, thus meeting Cronbach's recommendation of > 0.6 as the acceptable reliability level. The final questionnaire had a total of 48 items measuring seven constructs as follows: (i) general tasks during workshop practice; (ii) the relevance of technical knowledge; (iii) knowledge in interpreting engineering drawings; (iv) knowledge in new technologies; (v) manual skills; (vi) skills in machine operation; and (vii) skills in maintaining and improving machining tools. Based on the analysis, there was no significant difference between male and female lecturers in terms of knowledge and skills in handling mechanical workshops.

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This report on the persistence of gender gaps in education and skills presents insights on progress towards gender equality in education. The report uses data from the latest rounds of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and Education at a Glance. The report tries to understand why teen boys are more likely than girls, on average, to fail to attain a baseline level of proficiency in reading, mathematics and science, and why high-performing girls do not continue investing in developing skills in areas such as mathematics and science, when compared to high-performing boys. The report reveals, even when boys and girls are equally proficient in mathematics and science, their attitudes towards learning and aspirations for their future are markedly different and that has a significant impact on their decisions to pursue further education and their choice of career. Many of these differences in behaviour and confidence are a direct outcome of gender norms and cultural constructs in society negatively affecting student and teacher attitudes, career choices and women's opportunities later in life.

The report also describes that, despite overall gender gaps in mathematics and science being quite small, young women continue to be under-represented in STEM-related fields after leaving school. These career choices are also reflected in gender disparities in the labour market: tertiary-educated women earn 76 per cent of the earnings of their male peers. This could be possible because men are more likely than women to pursue studies in fields associated with higher earnings, such as engineering, manufacturing and construction, and ICTs, while women still choose fields associated with lower earnings, including education, welfare, and arts and humanities. The report provides an overview of how these disparities manifest themselves at several important points during the course of a person's life: towards the end of compulsory education, in tertiary education, and at entry into the labour market.

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The Department of Health announced an independent review of nursing education as a measure in the 2018/19 Federal Budget in May 2018. The present report represents the outcome of the various consultations, debates, and discussions. It covers the educational preparation of nurses, as well as the factors that influence people to choose nursing as an occupation. The report also looks at how other countries view Australian nursing education. The review found much that is excellent about nursing education, but it also found areas that could be improved. These include increasing the diversity of the nursing workforce, providing easily navigable career paths, fostering inter-professional collaboration, and ensuring that all nurses are adequately prepared for their roles. This report covers each of these topics and several related ones.

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The objective of this study was to determine and analyse the perceived trends of women in construction with regards to recruitment practices and placement within firms on the basis of gender. Data and literature on construction industry recruitment strategies, differences in gender, and representation of women in the trades has been studied in order to understand the perceived status of women in the construction industry as a whole. Major findings of the study included correlations between the size and type of construction firms and the proportions of women employed. The analysis determined that there are greater opportunities for women in home office positions in smaller firms. It was also determined that the greater the amount of work that is subcontracted, the greater the proportion of women home office personnel and salaried employees.

Other findings from the study included patterns of how the industry ranked women's performance of tasks. Construction industry professionals rated women higher in tasks involving computer literacy skills than did student respondents. Both industry professionals and student respondents thought women perform slightly better at tasks involving communication skills and sensitivity to the emotions of others, and that women performed worse than men in tasks involving physical strength. In regards to observations of personality traits, industry professionals and student respondents thought that women were slightly more tender-minded and organised as compared to men, while men were slightly more aggressive than women.

The results helped to conclude that while companies are not necessarily discriminating against women, they are also not looking to them as a potential skilled labor source. Additionally, gender differences observed in construction work, are not reflected when assigning work. In times when gender is considered, physical strength is typically the only gender difference that the industry is recognising.

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'Skillset and match' is Cedefop's magazine promoting learning for work. The highlights in this issue include: Germany's First Lady Elke Budenbender talks about equal participation for a more equitable society and how women can break through the glass ceiling in the STEM fields; Improving skills is an investment in people, says Director-General of the European Commission's DG Employment Joost Korte; Italian football legend Demetrio Albertini puts his skills in the service of vocational education and training as ambassador of the European vocational skills week; We report from a leading vocational college in Helsinki on Finland's achievements in the field; Article on key competences: approaches and challenges; Occupation in focus: Machine and plant operators; Revamping vocational education and training in Croatia; The next steps for apprenticeship. Readers can also browse through the latest Cedefop publications and upcoming events.

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In July 2012, E-Oz Energy Skills Australia was engaged by the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education, to undertake a Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL) project, which was designed to investigate whether there are specific literacy and numeracy strategies that would help women to enter and succeed in energy sector trades. The project was informed by an understanding that women's participation rates in Energy sector trades continue to be low at a time when demand for energy sector workers is growing and employers are struggling to find sufficient suitable candidates to fill training positions.

As part of this initiative, the first annual Women in the Energy Industry conference was held on the 4th of April 2013 in Canberra, to explore methods for increasing female participation in the energy sector trades and to reignite the conversation about promoting non-traditional roles to women. This report summarises the views of senior women who were invited to share their ideas and experiences to assist E-Oz Energy Skills Australia to: (1) identify any barriers to women's participation in the energy industry and whether than were any support mechanisms tools or strategies in place; and (2) determine whether there is a need for additional resources to assist female apprentices and those considering taking up apprenticeships to achieve success by boosting their foundation skills in the context of their chosen energy sector trade.

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The project, 'Moving women into forestry' provided a valuable opportunity to meet with women in two of the seven sectors representing the forest, wood, paper and timber products industry (in sawmilling and processing and wood panel/board production and manufacturing). During the course of the project, the women articulated what opportunities exist to encourage more women into the industry - 'why it's a good place to be', as well as what barriers result in their current low level of participation in the industry. The project priority was to meet with women working in the industry rather than complete a desktop analysis or a review of quantitative information. All of the meetings were conducted in regional areas where the forestry industry is a significant employer. The interviews with the women were predominantly in production environments. Around 145 women participated in the project and 124 surveys were completed. The women were predominantly over 40 years of age (54 per cent) and long term employees (76 per cent have been working in the sector for more than seven years). Of the women who participated in meetings or who were interviewed, they commonly expressed their: respect for their work and the job they did; recognition of the skills they now held and the importance of these skills to job satisfaction; importance to the community in what they do; pride in being associated with the industry; thanks for being asked to be involved in this project. If there is a goal to retain and support more women, then industry will need a range of strategies to manage workforce development, recruitment, job opportunities, known pathways and the skill development of women. These strategies are essential in workplaces where there are community stereotypes and a minority group, in this case women. Their concerns and issues, choices and decisions are often secondary to the more dominant male employee and workplace milieu. Best practices found in the study included workplaces where women are supported in their roles and many have participated in and accessed the skills and jobs that they wish to pursue. More commonly this was due to the women developing their own strategies and with resilience and determination, pursuing the jobs and skills in which to develop satisfaction within their workplace.

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