WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH

Madison McMahon, 20, from Ambarvale loves working in construction.
Madison McMahon, 20, from Ambarvale loves working in construction. It’s the industry where she has spent the last three years of her career.

Employed on a full time basis as a Workplace Health & Safety (WHS) trainee for CPB Contractors (the principal construction company managing the Campbelltown Hospital Redevelopment project) Ms McMahon said she hoped to secure the role of WHS officer once her training was complete.

“Safety really is the most critical part of construction,” she said.

We’re working with 37 tonne excavators and 60 metre high cranes, and there’s the risk of falls from height. You just don’t know how dangerous it can be until you work in the industry and you see firsthand how diligent each and every worker must be to ensure their own safety and the safety of their peers.”

Ms McMahon said although she worked as a certified diversional therapist in aged care, she felt she really found her purpose after moving into the construction industry.

“I felt respected and accepted,” she said.

“This role challenges me, it strengthened me and it gave me an opportunity to progress myself through ongoing learning and development.

“There is a real sense of camaraderie here. My workmates are supportive and caring and the leadership is considerate and inclusive. We really are like one big family, protecting and looking out for one another.”

Ms McMahon, who is a fourth generation Indigenous Australian from the Wiradjuri tribe on her father’s side and the Dunghutti tribe on her mother’s side, is also currently pregnant with her first child – a little boy due in October.

In fact, both her mother and father are also employed by CPB and work at the Campbelltown Hospital Redevelopment site.

Ms McMahon’s future aspirations within the industry are to become a mentor to other young women – particularly Indigenous women – who wish to enter the construction industry, and to better promote diversity across the sector.

“I want to help break down the stereotypes of what is considered a man’s job and a woman’s job and I want to see women thrive in all industries.

“If I can contribute to another woman’s journey and support her to become successful within the construction industry then I know I’ve done a job well done.”