Our RISE Impact:
A Stronger, Safer, Smarter System
Imagine an apprenticeship system where every woman who steps onto site knows she’s walking into a culture that has her back.
Where field officers have the confidence and training to spot early warning signs of exclusion or burnout.
Where leaders measure success not just in completions, but in belonging.
That’s the world Together We RISE is building.
By 2028, we hope this national initiative will have transformed how NAEN members across Australia recruit, support, and retain women in trades —
creating a ripple effect across the entire vocational education and training (VET) landscape.
A System That Works for Everyone
More women, staying longer, thriving further.
Partner GTOs will achieve measurable growth in both recruitment and retention of women apprentices — with dropout rates reduced and satisfaction rising across the board.
But the change doesn’t stop with numbers.
This is cultural infrastructure: leadership, training, and community systems that keep the momentum going long after the project ends.
Host employers
will become safer, fairer and more flexible workplaces — equipped with practical tools and clear expectations for gender-responsive practice.
GTOs
will have the frameworks and confidence to lead from the front, with gender equality built into policies, leadership training, and everyday decision-making.
Women apprentices
will no longer be the exception on-site — they’ll be the norm.
A National Shift in Capability and Culture
By the final year of RISE, the sector will have:
Completed a sector wide Gender Impact Assessment – shining a light on barriers that may have been hiding in plain sight.
Delivered leadership and field officer programs that permanently lift inclusion capability across the VET ecosystem.
Launched and sustained national networks connecting women apprentices across regions, states and sectors — building solidarity and confidence from the ground up.
Guided host employers to adopt new site standards addressing safety, flexibility, and gender-based risk.
Embedded gender equity frameworks across the GTO network — ensuring this becomes business as usual, not a side project.
This is not a pilot.
It’s a generational upgrade to how the apprenticeship model operates.
A Community That Keeps Rising
Leaders will continue to learn from one another.
GTOs will collaborate regionally, not compete.
Apprentices will pay it forward, becoming mentors and advocates for the next generation.
The Future We’re Building
When we talk about building gender equity, we’re talking about building capability, culture, and community that lasts.
A sector where inclusion is measured not by a checklist, but by the feeling people have when they walk through the door.
A workforce that mirrors modern Australia — dynamic, diverse, and determined.
This is the world after RISE.
A world where women are no longer paving the path alone — they’re walking it together.
And the industry isn’t just filling skill gaps; it’s building a future that belongs to everyone.