More Queensland women are picking up tools in trades like butchery, plumbing, and refrigeration, but a completion gap and persistent workplace harassment are undermining the gains, ABC Wide Bay reports.

Data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research shows the number of female apprentice butchers in Queensland has more than tripled since 2020, with 35 women starting a butcher’s apprenticeship last year alone. Similar growth is showing up in plumbing, electrical, and refrigeration and air-conditioning. Meanwhile, female enrolments in traditionally female roles like hairdressing have fallen, with nearly 200 fewer women starting that apprenticeship compared to 2022.

Completion is the harder problem. Of the 25 women who started a four-year butcher’s apprenticeship in 2022, only 10 had finished by 2025. Some trades produced no female tradespeople at all in the past five years. Griffith University professor Sarojni Choy, who specialises in adult vocational education, says lifting enrolment numbers is only half the job. “The challenge now is to convert that interest into sustained participation and completion,” she said.

Harassment is a major reason women leave. Research led by Professor Rae Cooper, director of the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion at Work at the University of Sydney, found 25 per cent of women in automotive trades had directly experienced sexual harassment at work. Federal laws passed in 2022 require employers to take proactive steps to prevent workplace sex discrimination, but Professor Cooper says some businesses aren’t following through. Pregnancy and childcare are also pushing women out, with experienced female tradies reportedly advising younger apprentices to avoid falling pregnant during their training years.

The federal government’s Building Women’s Careers Program has put $54.5 million into cultural change initiatives since early 2025, though the funding is limited to construction, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and digital industries. Professor Cooper says that scope needs to expand to cover trades facing acute skills shortages. A Department of Employment and Workplace Relations spokesperson confirmed women make up the majority of free TAFE enrolments, and that apprentices in priority industries may qualify for additional grants.

For tradies and employers, the numbers point to an untapped labour pool at exactly the moment skills shortages are biting. Businesses that build genuinely inclusive workplaces are likely to attract and keep apprentices, particularly among younger workers who, Professor Cooper says, are less willing to tolerate harassment than previous generations.

Frequently asked questions

Why are female apprentices not completing their trade qualifications?

Research points to workplace sexual harassment, pregnancy, and childcare as the main reasons women leave before finishing. Of 25 women who started a four-year butcher’s apprenticeship in Queensland in 2022, only 10 had completed it by 2025.

What is the Building Women’s Careers Program?

It’s a federal government initiative that has put $54.5 million into cultural change programs since early 2025. The funding currently covers construction, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and digital industries, though researchers are calling for it to be extended to other trades.

Are employers legally required to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace?

Yes. Federal laws passed in 2022 require employers to take proactive steps to prevent workplace sex discrimination. Researchers say some businesses are not meeting those obligations.

Sourced from ABC Wide Bay, National Centre for Vocational Education Research, Griffith University, University of Sydney. Original article.