COMPANIES from around Australia are throwing their support behind an innovative new platform that was officially launched this week to inspire and prepare young women to enter unique career pathways, such as engineering, logistics and mining to name a few.

Queensland’ s minister for employment and training Dianne Farmer opened the new initiative.

She said, “It is just so important to build partnerships between schools and industry to open students’ eyes to careers they may not have considered.

“UNIQ You is breaking down gender stereotypes and proving young Queensland women can achieve anything. I am a big fan of UNIQ You’s mission to provide girls with real-world knowledge and power that challenges their assumptions about where they want to work.”

UNIQ You is a service and online platform that connects high school girls (and their guidance and career officers) with industry advisors drawn from sectors under-represented by women.

Thirteen corporate foundation partners, selected from industries that have less than 40% representation of women, have signed on for the pilot program in Queensland: Aurecon, BMD, Boeing, Hutchinson Builders, Origin, Oz Minerals (SA), Seqwater, Shell’s QGC Business, Skedulo, Tesserent, Urban Utilities, Ventia and Yurika.

Female advisors from the 13 corporate partners across Australia will give their time to provide industry insights to grade 9 to 12 high school girls from 30 schools through personalised one-on-one video calls.

UNIQ You CEO, Tanya Meessmann, said, “In order to truly move the dial on gender diversity we need to ensure there is a pipeline of young girls, both inspired and prepared to pursue opportunities in under-represented industries.”

UNIQ You has partnered with Brisbane’s own global leader in scheduling software, Skedulo, to develop a bespoke platform that harnesses accessible technology to facilitate conversations between industry and students to create genuine and scalable change.

Boeing’s director of Phantom Works International, Emily Hughes, highlighted the power of role models in attracting a diverse pipeline of talent.

“Fostering an inclusive workplace includes providing young women with visibility of career paths they may never have considered.

“If you can’t see it, you can’t be it’ is a powerful message. Joining UNIQ You will enable Boeing Australia to highlight our incredible female employees to school-aged girls who may not have considered our industry,” she said.

UNIQ You’s service aims to connect over 600 girls with 100 female advisors across 10 industries in the first year, with national expansion set firmly in their sights.