RailCorp working hard to attract and retain women

“Already, seven of the twelve managers reporting to the RailCorp CEO are women,” a RailCorp spokesperson told Rail express.
“In such an industry that competes so heavily for talent, RailCorp is also taking the opportunity to establish contacts with the next generation of engineers.”
RailCorp’s ‘Women in Engineering’ initiative is part of its broader workforce acceleration strategy.
“This multifaceted initiative aims to increase the participation of women studying engineering and to facilitate entry for women into [our] scholarship, cadetship, internship and graduate programs,” the spokesperson said.
In 2009, RailCorp offered two scholarships to women in their third year of study in engineering and is planning to increase this to ten scholarships in 2010. Recipients also gain work experience with the organisation during their summer holidays.
“Once they have gained their degrees, the women are streamed into the graduate program,” the spokesperson said.
RailCorp has also been approached by the University of Wollongong (UOW) to co-sponsor the ‘Women in Engineering Summit 2010’: So you think you can engineer?, for young women interested in a career in the field.
A 4-night residential camp at UOW from January 11th-15th, the summit is for young women entering Year 11 in 2010 who are performing well in mathematics and science, or have a keen interest in engineering.
“The aim is to target young women early and familiarise them with the different career paths in engineering. Attendees will be informed of career opportunities in the engineering industry and gain exposure to world-class engineering facilities at UOW,” the spokesperson said.
“The young women will be guided during the week by the current cadets and graduates from RailCorp to give them an idea of the working conditions and opportunities available at the organisation.”
RailCorp continues to work in collaboration with a number of universities and have established scholarship and cadetship programs with UOW, University of Newcastle and University of Western Sydney for students studying a Bachelor of Engineering majoring in electrical, civil or mechatronics. RailCorp is also proposing to expand to other universities such as UTS and Sydney University.
In 2010, RailCorp will offer 10, three-year cadetships to second year engineering students which is double the number offered in 2009.
“In parallel to these initiatives, [we] also provide support to women in RailCorp including a support network for female employees in apprenticeship and trade positions,” the spokesperson said.
“This is designed to assist RailCorp retain existing female employees in non-traditional occupations and create a consultative forum regarding barriers and possible solutions to the attraction of females to on-traditional occupations.”