More women could be seen in entry level jobs in engineering as a new partnership aims to encourage females to study the subject.
The University of Queensland (UQ) has joined forced with Rio Tinto, the Australian Power Institute (API) and the Australian Petroleum and Exploration Association (APEA) to address the shortage of women applying for such courses.
Professor Graham Schaffer from the university said that training more female engineers would only bring advantages to the sector.
He commented: “Quality is enhanced by diversity. At UQ, we are proud to be working towards a more equitable balance of male and female engineers, which will greatly benefit the university and the engineering profession.”
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto, API and APEA have each pledged to invest $250,000 over the next five years to give the university the support it needs to increase enrolments by women.
The national average for female students pursuing an engineering course is between 12 and 14 per cent, which compares to 19 to 20 per cent at UQ.
This follows the announcement that a training program being led by Toll Mining Services and Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE is expected to deliver more employment opportunities in the transport industry.
The digital training scheme is being funded under the National Resource Sector Workforce Strategy.
