The Australian Women in Resources Alliance e-Mentoring program was launched by AMMA in early 2013 with a mandate to provide valuable support to women forging a career in the mining, oil and gas sectors.

“More than 150 resource professionals are already benefiting from the AWRA e-Mentoring program, which facilitates a nine-month online mentoring relationship tailored to the remote locations and non-traditional work schedules of many resource workers,” AMMA industry services executive director Tara Diamond said.

“The federal government’s decision to continue joint-funding the AWRA e-Mentoring program for another two years mirrors the commitment of resource employers to build a pipeline of female talent.

“Women have a critical role to play in ensuring the industry has the skills and talent to build and operate major resource projects well into the future, however, the workforce is not as diverse as it could be.”

AMMA is aiming to see an increase in women’s participation in the sector to 25% by 2020 from the current level of 15%.

Diamond said following its initial success, the e-Mentoring scope would target demographics of women that were particularly underrepresented in the industry.

“AWRA will bring on board experienced male and female mentors to engage with indigenous and recently trade-qualified women in the resources and allied sectors, as well as graduates in non-traditional roles,” she said.

“The real value of the e-Mentoring program is that each mentee has access to the most appropriate mentor from a variety of levels in the resource, related construction and allied service sectors, anywhere in the country.

“For a woman working on a remote minesite or oil rig, a connection to an experienced professional working in a different state or on another project can make all the difference to their career development.”

The e-Mentoring program is part of a suite of AWRA initiatives designed to attract, retain and develop women in the resource industry.