Australia news live: navy ship on rescue mission for stranded ocean rower; funding to boost female trade workforce

Funding to boost female trade workforce
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Krishani Dhanji
The government has announced 10 projects that will receive a share of $45m to increase the female workforce in trade industries.
The funding, through the Building Women's Careers Program, will go to projects including the 'Give her a Chance' program run by Master Builders Australia, to tackle bias in construction through education campaigns, mentoring and networking.
Labor says women make up less than 8% of all trade apprentices in male-dominated trades, and less than 5% in construction. Construction workers in Melbourne. Photograph: James Ross/AAP
The skills minister Andrew Giles said boosting female participation will also help address skills shortages in the sector:
We are taking the important first steps to introduce new pathways for women to enter traditionally male-dominated industries and make industry workplaces safer and more equitable.
These projects are tackling the structural and cultural barriers that often stop women from considering careers in these industries head on.
The program was announced in the 2024 budget as part of the government's $22bn future made in Australia package. Share Emily Wind
Good morning, and happy Monday – welcome back to a new week on the Australia news live blog. I'm Emily Wind, and I'll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of today.
A navy ship is on a rescue mission for a stranded Lithuanian rower off Australia's east coast, after a two-day wait. Rower Aurimas Mockus ran into trouble about 740km east of Mackay while attempting a 12,000km Pacific Ocean crossing from San Diego to Brisbane in his solo rowing boat.
A rescue ship is expected to arrive in the Coral Sea shortly. You can read the full details on this from AAP below:
Meanwhile, the federal government has announced ten projects to receive a share of $45m to boost the female workforce in trade industries.
The funding will go to projects including the 'Give her a Chance' program run by Master Builders Australia to tackle bias in construction through education campaigns, mentoring and networking. Krishani Dhanji will bring us more on this soon.
And this year's Oscars kick off in a few hours – we'll have rolling coverage, so keep your eyes peeled.
As always, you can reach out with any tips, feedback or questions via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let's get started. Share

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