In a joint project with the Australian Local Government Association and the Monash University Accident Research Centre, the ACRS was awarded a grant from the National Careers Institute Partnerships (NCIP) on Career Opportunities and Pathways for Women.
The NCIP Grant allowed the ACRS to establish a clear career pathway for women in road safety to reach their full potential, published through the MySkills website. Research was undertaken to identify gaps in current professional development options and provide recommendations to potential education providers. The project looked at requirements from three perspectives:
- Employers of road safety professionals – what skills and expertise were they looking for when hiring;
- Road safety professionals – what skills and expertise did they bring to the role, what professional development was needed to successfully fulfil their role and
- Education providers – what were the gaps in current tertiary offerings and what professional development options were needed.
Dr Diane Spencer-Scarr led the research for this project which included a national survey to benchmark the state of the Road Safety industry. This was followed by interviews and focus groups to probe how to attract people to all levels of the industry and improve their core industry knowledge and skills. There was a particular focus on attracting women who are underrepresented in Road Safety.
The project also involved a new ACRS Award, the Women in Road Safety Award, as well as a Women in Road Safety pre-conference event, both of which were launched at the 2022 Australasian Road Safety Conference in Christchurch.
Please contact admin@acrs.org.au if you would like more information.
Summary of the WiRS Project
Click here to download the summary of the WiRS Report.
Click here to view Road Safety Career Videos which were created by the ACRS as part of the Career Pathways for Women in Road Safety.