The Queensland Government has committed $500,000 to a pilot training initiative aimed at increasing the participation of women in higher-skilled roles across the state’s resources sector.
The funding will support the Women in Resources: Empowering Development (WIRED) program, which will be delivered by the Queensland Resources Council. The program is designed to help women transition into technical and operational roles such as machinery operators, plant technicians and site supervisors.
Minister for finance, trade, employment and training Ros Bates said the investment was intended to support workforce development in a key economic sector.
“We are backing one of Queensland’s economic powerhouses by delivering the skilled workforce it needs to keep growing,” Bates said.
“We are making sure women have clear, practical pathways into higher-skilled, higher-paid roles on site.”
According to the Queensland Government, the initiative is intended to address workforce shortages and expand the skills pipeline within the resources industry.
Queensland’s resources sector contributes more than $44 billion to the state economy and supports more than 82,000 jobs, many of them located in regional areas.
The WIRED program will focus on upskilling and reskilling women already working in the sector, with the aim of supporting progression into more advanced site-based roles.
The government indicated that the program forms part of broader efforts to address skills shortages within the state’s resources workforce.
Industry groups have also pointed to workforce attraction and retention as ongoing challenges across mining and extractive industries, particularly in regional areas where skilled labour supply can be limited.
Queensland Resources Council chief executive officer Janette Hewson said the program is intended to support career progression for women working in technical roles.
“This program is about enabling and retaining women in technician and operator roles to move into site-based leadership roles,” Hewson said.
“Our vision is an industry where women with technical skills have a clear pathway to more senior roles and can thrive in these roles long-term.”
Early engagement with industry stakeholders has begun, with the WIRED pilot expected to launch in mid-2026.
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