Hire and Rental News - November 2018

23 HIRE AND RENTAL NEWS • NOVEMBER 2018 QUALITY YOU CAN TRUST HOPPT AUSTRALIA - CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT Email: sales@hoppt.com.au Web: www.hoppt.com.au GET THE JOB DONE! Call Hoppt now on 1800 046 778 WOMEN in HIRE not aware of anything at a corporate level. Q: Does the ‘glass ceiling’ exist for women in the hire industry? A: I don’t have a specific example but I think it does. Traditionally the hire industry was and still is male dominated. Q: What would you like to see happen for all working roles in the hire industry? A: I would love to see more women in them but the trouble is attracting women to these roles. It is not glamorous, you have to use physical strength and you really do have to get your hands dirty. Every person joining the industry in a working role has to be prepared for this. Q: Are there unique challenges for women working in the access segment? A: The only ones I have personally experienced are the elements of physical strength and inner confidence. We had a female truck driver that joined our team from the mines; she was great and I was really excited we found her. The only problem was she lacked confidence with loading and unloading the equipment and was having problems with tightening the rachet traps. We worked with her, especially our operations manager. He was brilliant in trying to adapt the way we did things to help with these challenges. At the end of the day, it was too much change from her previous role of ‘just’ driving trucks so unfortunately she left. I was really disappointed. Q: How do you address those issues? A: We purchased a smaller style heavy duty glove to help with handling chains; our operations manager came up with a solution to help tighten the rachet straps; we used a long bar so it acted as a handle to pull down to tighten. We did whatever we could to help make things easier, less physically challenging and of course safe. I would like to know how we are going to attract more women into the industry? Is there anything being done? Contact: 1300 979 916 or visit: www.pinkbootshire.com.au Jess Gilchrist with Hugh, Howie, and Jake with '$10 donated' stickers Women in Hire The Women in Hire Mentoring Program provides opportunities for women to develop their leadership skills, build confidence and pursue a successful career within our industry. By gaining access to independent and objective perspectives of industry leaders, you’ll build confidence, improve your networking and communication skills, learn how to set goals and develop your resilience. Please contact the HRIA on 02 9998 2255 for more information.