News Brief: English
Summary
Amid significant construction delays in New South Wales, women are entering the trades but face a major obstacle: a lack of workplace flexibility, which prevents many from fully participating in this high-demand industry.
Key Points
- Personal Journeys: Candice Arnall and Bronte Ryan switched careers to become carpenters, discovering a passion for the trade.
- Industry Problem: The construction industry suffers from severe labor shortages, contributing to lengthy building delays. Detached home construction now takes 12 months on average, up from 9 months a decade ago.
- Flexibility Barrier: The industry’s rigid schedules, long hours, and early starts make it difficult for parents, particularly mothers, to balance work and family life.
- Gender Disparity: Only 2% of trade roles are held by women, and they are underrepresented in senior leadership, missing mentorship and role models.
- Untapped Talent: Experts highlight women and skilled migrants as a vast, underutilized talent pool that could help fill the skills gap if barriers like flexibility and qualification recognition are addressed.
新闻简报：中文
总结
在新南威尔士州面临严重建筑延误的背景下，女性开始进入建筑行业，但她们面临一个主要障碍：缺乏工作灵活性，这阻碍了许多人充分参与这个高需求行业。
关键点
- 个人经历： Candice Arnall 和 Bronte Ryan 转行成为木匠，并发现了对此行业的热情。
- 行业问题： 建筑行业面临严重的劳动力短缺，导致建筑工期漫长。独立式住宅的建造现在平均需要12个月，而十年前是9个月。
- 灵活性障碍： 该行业僵化的时间表、长时间工作和清晨开工使得父母（尤其是母亲）难以平衡工作与家庭生活。
- 性别差异： 只有2%的技工职位由女性担任，她们在高级领导层中的代表性不足，缺乏导师和榜样。
- 未开发的人才： 专家指出，女性和技术移民是一个庞大且未充分利用的人才库，如果能解决灵活性和资格认证等障碍，他们可以帮助填补技能缺口。
Original Article Link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-24/nsw-women-builders-flexible-construction-jobs-delays/105921604