Tell us about your organisation. How do you support skills in mining and/or automotive?

Resourceful Women™ is a community-driven initiative supporting women across mining and resources. Building on our online community, Women in Mining and Resources Australia (WIMAR), over the past 14 years, we have grown to more than 42,000 + women who are provided with a safe space to connect, share insights, and ask questions. We also allow companies who are committed to diversity in our industry to join our community and offer job opportunities to those within the group. We encourage male allies in the industry to join us on this journey.

WIMAR is for women at any age or stage of their career; whether they are joining, re-entering, or transitioning within the industry. We focus on practical pathways by helping women build confidence, capability, and access to networks that lead to real career opportunities, particularly in FIFO on-site and regional environments, as well as residential roles.

We partner with employers, training providers, industry bodies, and service businesses to support women through their mining and resources journey, both personally and professionally. As a careers and recruitment consultancy, Resourceful Women™ delivers targeted workshops aligned to site readiness and regional work realities, as well as mentoring programs through our membership offerings. We also provide industry feedback and insights by using up-to-date data and direct member input to help ensure training and support remains relevant to current workforce needs.

Why did you join AUSMASA?

This focus has naturally led us to join AUSMASA. With Resourceful Women™’s core focus on blue-collar tradespeople, apprentices, trainees, and semi-skilled opportunities (which make up a significant portion of the mining and resources workforce), AUSMASA provides a genuine “seat at the table” to help influence positive change in national skills and workforce development, and to stay connected with industry, government, and educators shaping the future workforce.

Our “why” is simple: to represent women’s lived experiences in skills and pathway design, including offering practical feedback on barriers to entry, training participation and completion, retention, and overall site readiness.

AUSMASA’s mission to keep VET and pathways responsive for employers and jobseekers aligns strongly with our purpose. We joined to help ensure training and workforce conversations remain relevant and include real, on-the-ground insights from women across our sector, so we can actively contribute to national work on pathways, training relevance, and capability needs, both now and into the future.

How do you think AUSMASA membership has enabled you to influence national skills and workforce development?

AUSMASA membership has enabled us to contribute practical, on-the-ground insights through consultation and industry engagement channels. Being invited to participate in discussions allows us to bring women’s workforce experiences into conversations about training relevance, pathways, and workforce capability.

Additionally, it strengthens our ability to share timely, evidence-informed feedback aligned to AUSMASA’s role in shaping workforce needs and VET outcomes; ensuring the realities of attraction, training completion, site readiness, and retention are reflected in how skills and pathways are designed and supported nationally.

Drive positive change in your industry!

Join us and shape the future of workforce development in the mining and automotive sectors. As a member, your organisation will have a voice in national discussions alongside industry, peers, government and educators.

To find out how to become an AUSMASA member, visit our member page.