Women In Trades Event – Not Your Average Careers Expo

Women in Trades NZ is working to get more women into trades.

Opportunities for women to pursue careers in trades have never been better. The Women in Trades (WiT) event aims to showcase a range of trades, get hands-on experience and meet industry employers and trainers.

What’s on offer?

The Women in Trades event is on April 9, 2024, at the Due Drop Events Centre in Manukau. Exhibitors will include sponsors KiwiRail, Competenz, Equans, Auckland Māori and Pasifika Trades Training (AMPTT) Auckland, MPTT The Southern Initiative, and Jobs and Skills Hub, bringing their hands-on activities from digger driving, painting, building, electrical, heavy machinery and more. The event will feature over 20 different industry employers and trainers.

Interactive activities will be followed by a panel discussion where women can hear from those already in the trades and apprenticeships to get their perspectives on career pathways.

Why do we need these events?

Women only make up 4% of the trades workforce, so such events are crucial to showcase the wide range of possibilities. WiT provides opportunities for women to meet, mix, and mingle with tradeswomen, employers, and trades training providers as they learn about different trades and the pathways to pursuing a trade career.

It plants the seed for those who don’t know what to do after school. WiT is opening new doors and showcasing the trades as a viable career option to women who may not have seen themselves on a non-traditional career path.

This will be Women in Trades’ sixth event in Auckland. Previous attendees have said, “A career in trades is not something women have traditionally considered or thought feasible, but this event seeks to change that.” Another past attendee said, “Seeing women who are tradespeople is empowering! I love knowing women can do it too, and it is accepted in society.”

Women in Trades hold events across the motu. The Taranaki event held last month attracted over 300 school students and was hugely successful.

Come along from 10-2 p.m. to learn about the trades. It’s like a career expo, but with more to do and see.

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