The Victorian Government is committed to attracting more women into VET and increasing female participation in the workforce.
The VSA continues to adopt a gender lens in its work. The Victorian Skills Plan for 2024 into 2025 (2024 Skills Plan) makes suggestions to support placement students in the female- dominated care industry and support better gender diversity in the male-dominated IT industry.
The Respect and Equality in TAFE (RET) initiative helps prevent violence against women, build safe environments for learners and staff and address barriers to female participation in education, training, and employment.
RET was developed in partnership with the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), Melbourne Polytechnic and Our Watch, a not-for- profit established to drive nation-wide change to prevent violence against women. In 2024, the RET at TAFE Week was launched with all 16 TAFEs and dual sector universities campaigning and contributing to the RET Network.
Through its participation in a cross-jurisdictional working group on strengthening university governance, the Victorian Government has made significant contributions to the development of an Action Plan addressing gender-based violence in higher education and a new National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence.
Empowering futures in Trade & Tech for women and gender diverse learners11
The Victorian Government’s annual Trade & Tech Fit expo helps female and gender diverse secondary school students better understand the career pathways available in the trade and technology industries and introduces employers to emerging female talent.
Students participated in interactive activities across a wide range of industries including building, construction and engineering; solar and wind clean energy; and gaming, cloud and robotics. Almost 3,400 students attended the 2024 expo.
After attending the expo in 2023, half the attendees expressed an interest in trades and tech careers and 95 per cent of teachers indicated they were more likely to recommend these pathways to their female and gender diverse students in the future.
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