Women in Trades – Characteristics of an effective learning journey

Posted on 28 April 2026 by akoaotearoa

These reports document an study that aimed to increase the participation and success of women in trades.

The research programme was delivered over three years through three interrelated focus areas:

  • Working directly with in-trade women to unpack the learning and career journeys of women who have succeeded in the trades to discover what we can be learned from their experiences.
  • Working with trade employers to gain the perspective from a balanced mix of 565 employers who have or have not employed women.
  • Working with an extensive quantitative analysis of the trades sector workforce to establish benchmarks and measure change.

The findings will be helpful to stakeholders to inform decision making, with a key focus on supporting women in trades and the impact of engagement with vocational education and training.

The series of accompanying resources offer tools and ideas for providers, employers and potential apprentices to support the participation and success of women in trades.

Resource download:

Project reports:

Part 1 – Research Programme Overview (PDF, 2Mb)

Part 2 – How women have succeeded in trades where they are traditionally under-represented (PDF, 900Kb)

Part 3 – How employers have influenced the participation and success of women in trades where they have traditionally been under-represented (PDF, 1Mb)

Part 4 – Personas of women and employers in trade (PDF, 1Mb)

Part 5 – Data and insights – a qualitative analysis of women in trades and the trade sector workforce (PDF, 2Mb)

Supporting resources:

Trades industries – beyond construction (PDF, 500Kb)

Need an apprentice? (PDF, 200Kb)

Growing your trades workforce – attracting women to your jobs (PDF, 500Kb)

Women’s Information and Resource Kete (PDF, 1Mb)

Providers Information and Resource Kete (PDF, 1.5Mb)

Employers Information and Resource Kete (PDF, 1.2Mb)

Decision Makers Strategy and Initiatives (PDF, 1Mb)

Background:

A three-year project, completed in 2021, that was jointly commissioned by the Ministry for Women and Ako Aotearoa, to increase the participation and success of women in construction and engineering related trades where they are traditionally under-represented.

A collaboration of five Industry Training Organisations, Manukau Institute of Technology, industry and educational organisations and secondary schools.

Reports prepared by Kylie Taffard, UMR Market Research, Loretta Garrow, Mark Williams and Scarlatti.

Co-funded by the Ako Aotearoa National Project Fund (NPF)

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