An innovative pre-employment program from CIMIC Group’s CPB Contractors is helping to enable greater female participation in construction site-based roles.
Launched in 2022, the first-of-its-kind Women In Construction pre-employment program ran for three weeks and gave 18 women the chance to secure permanent employment on CPB Contractors’ projects in the health, roads, rail and tunnelling sectors across Sydney.
The four-step program is centred around classroom study, on-the-job learning and establishing a long-term career.
- Fundamentals: Participants take part in a paid 3-week pre-employment training program that introduces them to work on a construction project and explains the fundamentals of the industry.
- Employment: Successful participants receive a permanent offer of employment for an apprenticeship role on a CPB Contractors project.
- Work and learn: Participants are employed as construction workers and obtain a Certificate III Civil Construction – Plant Operations.
- Construction career: Participants are supported and encouraged to continue their careers working across CPB Contractors’ projects.
Don Johnson, CPB Contractors’ Chief Operations Officer said:
“This is an innovative and proactive step towards creating a more equitable construction industry where women fully participate.”
Delivery of the program was led by Rebecca Britt, CPB Contractors’ Training Development Manager, who said:
“Developing and delivering the program was an amazing experience. To see this group of women, who had no prior construction industry skills, have a go and get the support they needed to thrive was very professionally and personally rewarding for me.”
CPB Contractors will shortly open applications for the 2023 intake of their Women In Construction pre-employment program. To find out how you can get involved, click here