Alder role model builds hope for next generation

A career in construction isn’t at the top of most young women’s list of job aspirations but Megan Mitchell, Construction Manager with Alder has plans to change that.

With two decades of industry experience under her belt, Megan is living her career goals working on construction projects spanning the education, health, residential, retail and office, and residential sectors while heading up teams on multi-million-dollar projects including the $29.5 million Wizard of Oz precinct at Movie World and the $10.5 million St Hilda’s Granowski Building.

As a young girl, Megan grew up with building in her blood watching on as her dad worked in his own residential construction business while her mum worked as the main manager and administration support for the company. Seeing the hard work and dedication it takes to succeed in the construction industry firsthand continues to be a big motivator for Megan today as she progresses through her career.

“I grew up being taught that everyone is a person whether they are male or female and everyone has something different to offer. I believe the main barriers to women entering the construction workforce is women do not understand the opportunities that exist within the industry and secondly, as it is a male-dominated industry it isn’t everyone’s dream to work in this environment.

“I have worked within the administration and management space my whole career, however there are opportunities such as Estimators/Quantity Surveyors, Commercial Contract Managers, Safety Advisors and Operations Managers, none of which require physical labour. The biggest misconception I have found whilst working in the industry is that we will have no support, or we will end up looking ‘stupid’ or ‘not capable’ whereas majority of men I have worked with throughout my career have been so supportive and willing to teach and guide me, treating me like any other individual.

“The only way we are going to change these perceptions is to keep encouraging women to give it a go, to be confident in their abilities and to not be afraid to show the feminine side of who they are.”

Megan didn’t progress her career in construction through the traditional university or trade career path, instead she worked her way up, starting out as a receptionist for a residential builder and got to where she is today through consistent hard work, dedication, and by believing in herself.

“The number of women in construction is slowly increasing, however, not at a rapid rate, and as I have worked in this industry now for more than 20 years, I have been privy to the growth over the years,” she said.

“I would love to help be part of this change and to give encouragement to the younger generations coming through and I hope to one day to be one young girl’s role model so they can see it is possible to achieve whatever you put your mind to regardless of the hurdles and stigma the industry can hold.”