When you ask a group of women what comes to mind when they think of cranes, hoists, or dogging, you usually get:
1. “No idea.”
2. “Sounds dangerous.”
3. “Isn’t that a job for men?”
So, we decided to change that.
In November, NexGen teamed up with Workforce Australia – Local Jobs Program (Sydney South West), Incolink’s- Women in Construction Program and Tower Crane Training (TCT) to host a Women in Cranes & Lifting day at Campbelltown. It was a hands and boots-on kind of day, designed to shine a spotlight on a side of construction too few women ever see.
Participants got to dive head-first into dogging signals, hoists, crane operations and the kind of teamwork and precision you need when you’re lifting the skyline. With women already working in the industry helping with the training, the purpose was clear: show them the skills, the opportunity, and that they belong there.
For many, it was the first time these women could see themselves in high-vis, hard hats on, standing in front of the machinery not as spectators but as operators. That kind of exposure matters more than we think, you can’t imagine yourself in a job if you’ve never seen someone who looks like you doing it.
Nearly half of the event was captured by A Current Affair. As the piece noted, “The median full-time wage for a crane or hoist operator is more than $150,000 a year.” 9Now Hoist operator Sallie Oxborough (one of the women on-site and on the panel) put it simply:
“You’ve gotta get out there, you’ve gotta show them you’re keen.”
That hit harder than any lecture ever could. Because it’s not just a job, it’s a pathway. A pathway out of under-employment and into a skilled trade with real earning potential.
Cranes and lifts aren’t “just men’s work.”
They’re big jobs, smart jobs, skilled jobs. Jobs where women can excel. And we’re not only introducing women to new career options. We’re shifting culture. We’re helping fill critical labour shortages with talent that’s been ignored for too long. We’re building the next generation of the construction industry.
This article is authored by Lauren Fahey, Executive Director of Nex Gen.