Connecting Women to Trades Grant Program: Australia

Deadline: 21-Dec-22

The Connecting Women to Trades program is offering grants to eligible organisations to deliver skills, training and career development projects that support women to pursue a career in trades.

Aims

Connecting Women to Trades grant program (round two) aims to address the underrepresentation of women in non-traditional trades and trades experiencing skills shortages. Funded projects will deliver a wide range of activities to encourage and support more women into trade training and progress into a career in trades.
The grant will fund the design and delivery of innovative and targeted projects delivered through partnerships and aligned to the three pillars of action and outcomes of the Women’s Strategy.

Pillars

The Women in Trades Strategy 2021-24 (the Women’s Strategy) includes three ‘pillars of action’ to increase the representation of women in male dominated trades:

Increase the appeal of trades to raise women’s level of participation.
Facilitate change to remove cultural and societal barriers.
Support women’s learning to maximise vocational outcomes.

Scope

Projects should:

utilise partnerships with multiple organisations such as industry, community organisations, and women’s groups to deliver relevant and engaging projects for women which meet the desired outcomes.
be delivered in one or more of the nine Training Services NSW regions.
align outcomes and objectives to the Women’s Strategy.
aim to incorporate recommendations from the Women in Trades Promising Practice Review
deliver multiple outputs to progress women into trade training and employment.
focus on developing skills in trades where women are underrepresented such as automotive, electrotechnology and construction; and/or in trade occupations experiencing skills shortage.
conclude no later than April 2024

Funding Information

The 2022-2024 budget for the Connecting Women to Trades grant program round two is $5,000,000 (GST exclusive).
Applicants can apply for up to $300,000 (GST exclusive) per project.
The Connecting Women to Trades Grant (round two) projects will commence in February 2023 and conclude in April 2024.

Outcomes

Pillar one: Increase the appeal of trades to raise women’s level of participation
- Boost awareness of the social and economic benefits of a career in trades
- Improved exposure of trade pathways for women
- Greater visibility of female trade ambassadors
Pillar two: Facilitate change to remove cultural and societal barriers
- Greater numbers of women taking part and completing vocational education training
- Development of skills that lead to a career in trades
- Increased awareness of gender discrimination across
Pillar three: Support women’s learning to maximise vocational outcomes
- Confidence to enter training and employment in trades
- Stronger networks between industry, employers and women
- Reduced financial barriers that deter women from entering trades

Outputs

Accredited training
Careers information
Job Readiness Training
Marketing and promotion
Work tasters and placements

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible to apply for a grant, an applicant must:
- Be a legal entity with the capacity to contract
- Currently operate in NSW
- Be registered for GST and have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
- Covered by public liability insurance
- Be financially viable
Demonstrate partnerships which may include industry, community organisations and women’s trade advocacy networks to co-design and deliver projects
If proposing subcontractor arrangements, please disclose partnerships within the project proposal
Eligible applicants include:
- Registered Training Organisations (RTOs)
- Group Training Organisations (GTOs)
- Not-for-profit organisations
- Industry Training Advisory Bodies (ITABS)
- Local Government Organisations
- Industry Associations
- GST registered businesses with a trade workforce
- Trade Unions
Eligible participants:
- The majority of participants are expected to be women. However, some projects may seek to deliver activities that will include participation by men as a means to address the gender imbalance in trade. This could include workplaces, schools or engagement with parents, carers or career advisors.
- Project participants must meet the following Smart and Skilled eligibility criteria to participate in accredited training:
  - 15 years or older at the time of enrolment
  - No longer be at school
  - Living or working in NSW
  - Australian Citizens, permanent residents, humanitarian visa holders or NZ citizens
Applicants wishing to apply for more than one project will submit one application only and may attach multiple project proposals.