While most year 11 students in Queensland were enjoying school holidays this September, ten students from Somerville House and Loreto College in Brisbane were taking part in a world-first pilot program designed to ignite the interest of young women in pursuing professional careers in construction.
The Construct Her Future program is the brainchild of Ashley Begg and Anna Richardson of Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) and is delivered through its Construction Pathways program, in partnership with Constructionarium Australia; a not-for-profit organisation that provides infrastructure professionals with real-life project experience on replicas of larger structures.
CSQ Industry Development Manager, Ashley Begg said the aim of the Construct Her Future program is to help address low female participation in construction by incentivizing young women to consider professional careers in the industry before they leave school.
“For this first-time pilot program, we partnered with Somerville House and Loreto College because we have Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with these schools and an existing level of engagement; so, we knew we were going to get the calibre of students we wanted to kick start this program,” Ashley Begg said.
“Initially we held an information session at the schools which included information sharing with student’s parents too as we realised they are very influential in the selection of future career paths of their children. So, we weren’t just pitching to the students, but we were also pitching to their parents the merits of exploring professional opportunities in construction,” Ms Begg said.
“We had 19 applications and 10 spots to fill so it was a very selective cohort and academically they mostly came from STEM pathways including sciences, maths, technology and physics. They filled out an online application which we assessed against a matrix and each question was rated. It was very competitive, and all applicants scored very closely,” she said.
“From there, 10 young women were selected and invited to participate in a five-day, hands on, high-stakes construction project where they would work in teams as competing construction companies to tender, build and hand over a real bridge to a client all while adhering to industry best practices.”
Pictured – Year 11 students from Somerville House and Loreto College collaborating on a high-stakes construction project to build and hand over a real bridge to a client.
Director and Chief Executive Officer of Constructionarium Australian, Nicky Vaisey said the program plays a pivotal role in showing young women what opportunities are available in construction.
“You can’t be what you can’t see, so if you have no idea of anything about the construction industry and you don’t know any women who are working in construction then how can you possibly know what opportunities are available and if you would even enjoy the work,” Nicky Vaisey said.
“So that’s exactly what Construct Her Future is all about, to encourage them to explore an industry that they’re not knowledgeable about. And there’s many different aspects to construction, it’s not just the jobs on the tools, it’s also the commercial side of the industry including law, environment, sustainability, and human resources to name some,” Ms Vaisey said.
“Long-term we hope that as an industry we can convert 50% of the girls through the program into professional careers within construction whether that be as a site manager, a project manager, a lawyer or someone looking at the environmental aspects of a project or its sustainability,” she said.
“This is the first program of its kind in the world. It’s not lollipop sticks and pieces of paper; this is a proper job site and they’re constructing using the same tools and materials that you would see on major engineering projects.”
“You can’t be what you can’t see.” – Nicky Vaisey CEO of Constructionarium Australia
Pictured – Over the five-day program, the young women learnt about tender processes, engineering and design as well as construction. Here the girls were deciphering instructions on how to build the mini, modular Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bridge supplied by Wagners CFT.
Now the students have completed the initial project build they enter a new phase of the program.
“It’s a two year program which includes 12 months of mentoring following completion of the initial project build and then ongoing online peer to peer support through group networking. Our aim is to really nurture and build a female support network across a range of age and experience levels all within infrastructure,” Ashley Begg said.
“Ongoing we will help them with interview preparation, building a resume and even professional development opportunities whereas graduates they can take part in the Constructionarium program or come and help young women in the Construct Her Future program as Project Managers themselves,” Ms Begg said.
“We want to achieve a really well-rounded experience including networking with very senior people in the industry to build leadership and confidence in the young women participating,” she said.
“The mining industry is one example of a male dominated industry that has really harnessed the abilities of women through enhanced decision-making, problem-solving abilities, improved operational efficiency, higher levels of productivity and innovation and better risk management and we know if we can encourage and nurture these young women into careers in construction that the industry will be better placed.”
Pictured – During the five day Construct Her Future program participants took part in ‘Lunch and Learns’ to explore Bridge Design, Sustainability, Indigenous Cultural Learning, Women in Construction and Career Development.
Loreto College Year 11 student Heleni Burley said she was planning on pursuing a career path in medicine or nursing prior to taking part in Construct Her Future.
“I was really nervous at the start because while I knew some of the girls coming to the program, they’re not really from my friend group so I was a bit unsure of what to expect,” Heleni Burley said.
“I was hoping to get a clearer vision about architecture and designing and what else I might be interested in within infrastructure planning and development or the construction industry itself,” Ms Burley said
“I’ve really enjoyed the hands-on side of Construct Her Future probably because it’s not something we normally would get to explore in a traditional school setting. It’s been such a great program to be involved in and a lot better than sitting at home during school holidays on my phone; it’s been more fun than scrolling TikTok that’s for sure,” she said.
“For girls who get the opportunity to get involved in a project like this, take it, do it, you won’t regret it! I’ve loved it so much and the industry definitely has more of my interest now. Meeting new people and the teamwork I’ve experienced through this project has been really inspiring.”
Pictured – Hands on experience of the types of careers that could be pursued through construction played a big part in the success of the program.
Sentiments that have been mirrored by fellow participant in the program, Somerville House Year 11 student, Charlotte Bugg.
“I was looking to do nutrition and dietetics because I really like sport and I really like eating but I can’t do biology and I really hate science so secretly I was quietly trying to figure out what I was going to do,” Charlotte Bugg said.
“Mostly I want to make a lot of money so that’s probably what sparked my interest in exploring opportunities in the construction industry initially, because there is the opportunity to make a lot of money,” Ms Bugg said.
“There’s so much more to the construction industry than I realised, and I’ve really enjoyed the hands-on side of the project build; it was so good to physically be out there doing it rather than sitting there talking about building it in a more traditional classroom like setting,” she said.
“Pretty much when it came to the build, we were given the instructions and told to go build it; which was great because we really felt like we were in control, and that everyone was putting a lot of trust in us; and we were being treated like adults on a real project build.”
“If you get the opportunity to get involved in Construct her Future, just apply; I didn’t think I would get in because the competition was so tough…but look at me go! And go into it with an open mind because it is a really cool opportunity.”
“My parents have told me if you love your job, you will never work a day in your life, and I can really see myself being happy in a construction career which I would never have thought of before this opportunity.”
Pictured – Civil contractors, McIlwain and Australian FRP manufacturer Wagners Composite Fibre Technologies (CFT) both supported the program through provision of professional services and supply of materials.
CSQ and partners are now assessing the success of the pilot Construct Her Future program with the view of rolling out more opportunities for young women to experience construction in 2025.
Wagners Composite Fibre Technologies supplied the mini, modular Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) pedestrian bridges which the students constructed during the program. For more information on Wagners CFT pedestrian bridges visit https://www.wagnerscft.com.au/solutions/pedestrian-infrastructure/pedestrian-bridges/
Civil contractors, McIlwain also supported the initiative through the management of the construction site during the build. McIlwain is passionate about increasing participation of women in the industry through programs like Construct Her Future which align with their commitment to recruit, retain and develop the next generation of women in construction. For more information on McIlwain visit https://www.mcilwain.com
For more information on CSQ and its Construction Pathways visit https://www.csq.org.au
To learn more about Constructionarium Australia visit https://www.constructionariumaustralia.com.au
