Men are paid far more than women in industrial centres around Australia, with the Mackay region no exception.

Given the strong, traditionally male-dominated industry drivers in the region, the great divide between male and female incomes is larger in Mackay than the rest of the state of Queensland.

Miner Kerrie Dark is reaping the rewards of working in Queensland's resources industry.The Mackay region follows the state-wide statistical trend of having more females employed in the traditional roles of sales and community and personal service, with proportionally fewer women employed as technicians, trade workers, machinery operators and drivers.

In the hope to swing some of the industry dollars to women, CQUniversity has teamed up with the Queensland Government's Office for Women to host the Women in Hard Hats Mackay Career Awareness Workshop on Friday March 11 at CQUniversity Mackay campus.

One woman who has already begun to reap the rewards of working in Central Queensland's resource hub is engineering cadet, Kerrie Dark, who left her job as a childcare director to explore life as an underground miner some 15 years ago.

"I have worked in the mining sector in the capacity of geology right through to underground miner. I have also had the experience of working in exploration and both underground and open cut metalliferous mining."

"One of the biggest challenges of a mining job is getting used to working in remote towns and having to live away from family and friends on mine site camps and at times in the outback," said Ms Dark, who explained that working in mining communities is also where the rewards are.

"It can be very rewarding working in the confines of an underground mine and developing lifelong friendships with the people you work with and live on camp with. They become your second family."

CQUniversity Pathways Coordinator Lyn Forbes-Smith said the Women in Hard Hats workshop hopes to raise awareness of employment opportunities in the mining, construction and manufacturing industries for women and girls in the Mackay region.

"By de-mystifying what employment looks like in these industries we are hoping to access a much larger talent pool of potential employees."

When Kerrie Dark first set foot on a mine site, she was one of only a few women working in the sector.

"Working in a male-dominated environment can be a challenge and it took me a while to work out the best way to fit in, especially when I first started, as women were very rare at that time," she explained. But it is a career she loves dearly and she is encouraging other women to look at the industry further.

"I have accomplished skills that I never thought possible such as operating very large, heavy machinery and working underground."

These tasks are a far cry from the nappy changing and nursery rhyme singing which was a part of her previous life in the childcare sector.

Since moving into the mining industry, the 34-year-old has begun formalising her qualifications and is currently employed as an engineering cadet with Aurecon Hatch in Mackay.

As part of the cadetship, Kerrie is completing tertiary studies to enhance her knowledge of the industry. She is studying the Associate Diploma of Mine Technology, a program offered by CQUniversity via distance learning and designed specifically for the mining workforce.

Up to 150 women and girls are expected to learn more about the occupations and working conditions on offer in the resource sector, thanks to the upcoming workshop in Mackay.