With the re-appointment of Brigitte Stavar as AMTIL President I thought it prudent to write about the impact that Women in Manufacturing have and the new initiatives that are encouraging more and more females into our industry.
Brigitte Stavar has been instrumental in guiding us through the past two years of her tenure. When she was first appointed to the role in December 2019, for those who can remember back then, we were in the middle of firestorms all around the country putting pressure on us as a nation to survive. Then we had the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact that had across all states, with lockdown after lockdown, the uncertainty of what the next Government regulation was and the impact these decisions would have. It has been difficult times trying to run a “services” business with member benefits almost non-existent during this time. We launched a new show, Australian Manufacturing Week, that replaced National Manufacturing Week and Austech as our premier Manufacturing show in the country, and subsequently had postponed it twice due to COVID. As President, Brigitte has worked with our team to manoeuvre through these minefields and get us back in a position focussed on providing great member benefits. She was also a driving force in getting us to invest in our own building and rebrand the organisation over recent months. I welcome Brigitte to her appointment for another term as President and look forward to working with her over the coming years.
Regarding Women in Manufacturing pathways, it is good to see a number of initiatives being developed. UNIQ You is one such initiative. Companies from around Australia are throwing their support behind this innovative new platform recently launched in Queensland, set to foster impactful conversations that will change the game for female representation in male-dominated industries.
UNIQ You is a groundbreaking service and online platform that connects high school girls (and their guidance and career officers) with industry advisors drawn from sectors under-represented by women. Industry Partners, selected from industries that have less than 40% representation of women, have signed on for the program: Aurecon, BMD, Boeing, Hutchinson Builders, Origin Energy, SEQ Water, Shell’s QGC Business, Skedulo, Tesserent (VIC), Urban Utilities, and Yurika.
Female advisors from these Partners across Australia will give their time to provide industry insights to grade 9 to 12 highschool girls from 30 schools through personalised one-on-one video calls. By connecting girls with relatable female role models across a diverse spectrum of industries, it is expected that their queries and curiosity around career pathways will be answered. For more information go to www.uniqyou.com.au.
Another great initiative is the Women in Manufacturing Mentoring Program being managed by William Buck, Rigby Cooke and the Commonwealth Bank in conjunction with AMTIL. It had a formal launch at Australian Manufacturing Week in Sydney in June last year. It is being driven through the strong leadership of women in all four organisations, all making their mark on the growth of women employed in our industry.
The purpose of the Women in Manufacturing Mentoring Program is to link manufacturing consulting leaders with a manufacturing commercial leader to listen, share experiences and support development towards achieving career aspirations. The Mentoring Program aims to support, encourage and facilitate learning, development and the expansion of personal networks.
Everyone’s mentoring experience will be different, reflecting individual aspirations, preferences and motivation. The mentor relationship will provide:
- Opportunity to gain guidance and advice from a consulting leader
- The chance to discuss and reflect on development opportunities
- Development of broader relationships
- Expansion of personal networks
- Sharing of career aspirations.
The program will run over a 12 month period with mentors and mentees meeting a minimum of six times, either in person or virtually. Once the initial 12 months period ends, support will continue to be provided by way of a rolling alumni program. I encourage any females who would like to be involved in the program to contact Kim Banks at kbanks@amtil.com.au
In addition to this initiative with our Partners William Buck, Rigby Cooke, and the Commonwealth Bank, AMTIL also has plans to run a number of WIM events next year, including a networking activity at Australian Manufacturing Week being held from 9-12 May at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.