Awesome Women – Détails, épisodes et analyse

As the AWIC North Queensland Roadshow (16th – 24th October 2023) was coming to an end, we took the opportunity to have a chat with Kim Allen from CRA Construction and Angela Hucker from Empowering People in Construction (EPIC). We asked them what their highlights of the Roadshow were.

Kim owns CRA Construction alongside her husband Chris, a residential high end plastering company. Together they've built up a team of full time employed, qualified, going above and beyond the national standard to complete superior finishes.

Angela has over 20 years’ experience working in numerous areas of the construction industry, across the public, private and corporate sectors. She is passionate about supporting women in construction and FIFO workers, as a result, she founded Empowering People In Construction (EPIC) Services, a dynamic venture that's reshaping the Australian construction sector by harnessing the immense potential of women.
For more information about CRA Construction, visit CRA Construction or connect with Kim Allen via LinkedIn. You can reach out to Angela Hucker to find out more about Empowering People in Construction (EPIC).

Kim owns CRA Construction alongside her husband Chris, a residential high end plastering company. Together they've built up a team of full time employed, qualified, going above and beyond the national standard to complete superior finishes.

Kim flew up and joined the AWIC North Queensland Roadshow (16th – 24th October 2023) in Cairns. It was great having Kim join us as we visited a wide range of industry businesses. We took Kim aside for a few minutes to find our why she joined us in Cairns.

Kim is incredibly proud in having created a company with her husband where they have chosen to simply do things right. They only hire their staff on a full-time basis instead of running with sole-traders, they only hire qualified plasterers or up-skill them to get them qualified and are constantly working with their team to better themselves personally but also keeping their passion alight as tradespeople.
For more information about CRA Construction, visit CRA Construction or connect with Kim Allen via LinkedIn.

Kristina brings vision and structure to Alder Constructions with her intuitive approach. Her industry experience, creative skills and collaborative style have enabled the organisation to build new business pathways, through high quality bid management, inspired community engagement programs and true leadership in support of our core goals and objectives. As a leader within Alder Constructions, Kristina’s passion to create a more diverse, inclusive and balanced workplace has cultivated an environment where gender barriers are removed and women in construction are truly supported, promoted and valued.

Meg Hooper is a registered psychologist with a PhD in Organisational Psychology. Over the past 17 years, through a mix of internal and external consulting roles.

Meg has honed her skills as an Organisational Change Manager, working on changes of all sizes. While she has developed a broad practice of doing what it takes, Meg’s speciality is helping teams create a strong identity and sense of purpose and to establish more resilient patterns of behaviour in the face of change and challenge.

We apply our knowledge of human behaviour to real business problems. Our services are always tailored to meet our client’s need however there are some key themes that emerge many times over. Change management, team performance, individual and team resilience and assessment have emerged as some of our most needed services over recent times.

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Talking to Meg on this Podcast we spoke about the importance of networking. Meg also discussed on of her passions - Umbrella Circus.

FleetCrew was established by Ben Harris and Mary-Ann Strelow to give you peace of mind by supplying a market leading range of specialist hire vehicles and maintenance services in the mining, construction, commercial and tourism & leisure industries.

With branches in Brisbane, Dysart, Mackay and Mount Isa, FleetCrew offers specialist 4wd vehicles for short term or long-term hire throughout eastern Australia.

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Talking to Mary-Ann on this Podcast we discussed the importance of supporting the local community.

In October we were joined by a number of speakers and interviewees to discuss mental health in the workplace.

The construction industry is notoriously male-dominated, and the many capable women who enter the construction industry often

have to fight harder, speak louder and face extraordinary pressure to create their own success.

Event attendees will be provided with the tools to achieve personal resilience which will make the difference between “just coping” and thriving under pressure in the workplace. The guest speakers joining us for this event are all experts in their field and look forward to sharing their knowledge too small to medium sized business owners, women in construction and aboriginal & islander communities who simply feel they don’t ‘fit’ anywhere.

This event was proudly supported by Queensland Alliance for Mental Health, in partnership with Queensland Mental Health Commission.

Hosts:

Amanda Bulow & Dr Meg Hooper

1. Stream introduction
00:00

2. Dr Peta Lilley
12:36

3. Ally Kelly
42:10

4. Dr Scott Allison Interview
1:12:55

5. Dr Meg Hooper
1:25:45

6. Andrea Anderson
2:03:28

7. Kari Sutton Interview
2:36:48

8. Melissa Marsden
2:47:22

9. Des Whybird Interview
3:16:38

10. Wrap up
3:35:55

If you are interested in watching the stream, or downloading any of the resources discussed during this event, you can find everything on our event page: https://awic.org.au/mental-health-week/

When I finished high school, I dived into a combined business and law degree. I always wanted to study business and I decided to do the law course as I got the results to do law as well. University was a hard slog and I worked in a small law firm during my university years to get experience. In fact, sometimes I worked up to three jobs to get through university.

I fully intended on having a great career and then throwing it in the bin once I had children. When I was in my twenties, I couldn’t fathom how you could be successful in your career and still be a mother. In hindsight, that willingness to let my career go, was one of the best decisions that I could have ever made.

The night before the podcast, my eight year old son wanted me to tell him a story before bed. I told him that I needed to prepare for a podcast that I was doing tomorrow. I had to explain what a podcast was and told him that I would talk about my career. He said “like North Korea!”? I love the minds of children!

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Talking to Melissa on this Podcast we discussed how along our career we take with us the learnings of each employer to the next position. Not just in our careers, but in life. Appreciate the small things because one day, they will become the things that matter.

Nicole started working while at school (part-time) for Sizzler, then she worked for a printing company in administration. Following this role, she joined the team at STA Consulting Engineers and spent 25 Years in a variety of roles including Reception, Admin Office Manager, Marketing Manager, Chief Operations Officer and finally in the role of National Business Development Manager.

What next? Its time for Nicole to focus and build her own business, Foundation Solutions. Underpinning and Foundation Repair - Our foundation repair services are designed to restore the safety of your home and the value of your property.

What is Nicole’s key’s to success? Drive, Determination, Back YOURSELF and keep pushing forward and no you don't need a degree don't be too hard on yourself. You can do this. Listening, being sincere and wholesome with integrity.

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Talking to Nicole on this Podcast she is well on her way to being the leading underpinning business in SEQ with the only female lead and franchising the underpinning process into other states.

Melissa Marsden is a Workplace Dynamics Strategist who works with corporates & professional services firms to create physical environments that drive high performance teams.

Mel believes that our environments have the opportunity to positively influence our behaviour and performance at work.

Mel has enabled her clients to realise not only substantial financial business profits, but also shift employee and business mindsets from slow, stagnant operations to agile and flexible environments, enabling them to swiftly adopt new business opportunities and streams, whilst establishing a premium level employee experience.

Mel’s business acumen has been recognised by AIM and Telstra Business Women’s Awards for her leadership and transformational business strategy process.

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Talking to Melissa on the Podcast I learnt about the value of having a variety of rooms in the office space to engage and empower your team. Is this the end of the open plan office?

Pepita Hampson joined Youngcare in February of 2017 following work in the mental health area.

Pepita has also worked in a voluntary capacity with the homeless community of Brisbane and during the floods of 2011. She has also spent time travelling to East Timor and living in the mountain villages to assist with building projects and education of some of the poorest people in the world.

Pepita is the Family Engagement Officer within the Youngcare Connect Team and works closely with individuals and their families to assist them to navigate the challenges they face on a daily basis.

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Talking to Pepita on this Podcast I learnt how Pep’s dedication to those who need a hand in life extends beyond Youngcare. This podcast will make you smile and know that there are wonderful people doing amazing things in the world.