Building diverse opportunities to bridge construction gap
Australia’s construction industry faces a 300,000 shortfall in workers by mid-2027 – and a CQUniversity researcher says better ways of including women and minorities could help fill the skills gap.
Project Management expert Dr Roksana Tumpa is a Senior Lecturer at CQUniversity, and researches employment and culture in the construction industry.
She says improved flexibility, clearer career progression and more inclusive workplace culture could help the construction industry tackle its skills shortage.
Dr Tumpa has recently shared her findings in Trading Places industry magazine, and her team was named a finalist in the International Project Management Association Global Research Awards.
Traditional turn-offs
Since 2006, the proportion of women in Australia’s construction industry has dropped from 17 per cent to just 13 per cent, and Dr Tumpa said the industry was losing female employees faster than it could hire them.
Recent reporting has highlighted the scale of the retention challenge, with the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) reporting that 72 per cent of women starting construction trade apprenticeships leave before completing their first year. Across all construction apprentices, around half never finish their training.
Dr Tumpa recently co-authored a study of 655 women in the Australian construction industry, and found that inflexibility, lack of promotion opportunity, and stagnant pay all drove intention to leave the industry.
“That’s despite enjoying the work: across different age groups, managerial positions and career backgrounds, interesting and engaging work consistently emerged as one of the most highly valued motivational factors,” she said.
“In our interviews, some women described working 60 to 70 hours a week, alongside difficulties accessing flexible working arrangements, recognition and career progression,” Dr Tumpa said.
“We need to look beyond attracting women into the industry and focus equally on what enables them to build sustainable careers.”
Dr Tumpa argues that addressing the challenges women face in construction could also broaden the sector’s appeal to a more diverse range of people, including migrants and minority groups.
Her research into Australian women changing careers also highlights the importance of recognising transferable skills and creating clearer entry pathways for women from other professional backgrounds.
“We need to find ways the construction industry can attract people from diverse backgrounds and create inclusive workplaces where they can thrive and build sustainable careers,” she said.
Dr Tumpa said the industry must prioritise:
- Part time and flexible roles, including predictable working hours and arrangements that accommodate caring responsibilities.
- Transparent pathways to promotion, with clear criteria for career advancement.
- Zero tolerance policies for sexism and harassment
- Formal mentoring and sponsorship opportunities to support women's career progression and leadership development.
- Improved training for educators providing career guidance, to promote trades pathways to female students
- Invest in inclusivity training and foster a genuine culture of inclusion.
- Recognise transferable skills and provide structured opportunities for women transitioning into construction from other industries.
Dr Tumpa said women's participation initiatives must look beyond recruitment.
“Increasing the number of women entering construction is important, but without addressing the conditions that influence whether they stay, recruitment initiatives alone are unlikely to deliver lasting change,” she said.
Social value to workforce shift
Dr Tumpa says large infrastructure projects increasingly promote their “social value” through diverse employment targets.
But she said meaningful changes to construction workplaces are still required.
“Are we genuinely creating social value through diversity, or are we simply getting better at reporting diversity numbers?” she asked.
“Diversity targets are an important starting point, but meaningful social value should also be reflected in whether people experience fair treatment, have opportunities to progress, and can build long-term careers in the industry,” Dr Tumpa said.
“This industry needs to improve how it attracts and retains diverse workers, if it wants to address the huge skills shortage currently driving up project costs, and slowing delivery timelines.
“Truly supportive, inclusive workplaces will create meaningful and lasting benefits for workers, communities and the wider industry.”
Explore pathways into construction careers at CQUniversity’s Engineering, Built Environment and Aviation courses.
