Construcciones Yamaro: School holiday program raises the bar for inclusion
Infrastructure and network services contractor Service Stream has introduced a school holiday program to ease pressure on working parents.
By Melinda Davis, GM of Empowered Women in Trades.
Innovation in construction and infrastructure is usually measured in machinery, systems and engineering breakthroughs. Yet at Service Stream, one of the most meaningful innovations shaping the organisation involves paintbrushes, puzzles and a room of excited children.
Efforts to improve diversity and inclusion often focus on recruitment strategies, leadership pathways or flexible working policies. While all of these matter, they can sometimes miss the everyday realities that determine whether people feel supported in their roles and able to stay in the organisation or industry.
In response, Service Stream trialled an on-site school holiday program at its Melbourne office in late 2024. What began as a pilot quickly evolved into an initiative that is improving wellbeing, lifting productivity and helping retain women in a sector where female participation remains disproportionately low.
Across Australia, school holidays create challenges for many workers, even more so for women who represent the majority of primary carers. Service Stream saw this reflected in its workforce. Employees, especially women, were regularly taking additional leave during holiday periods or attempting to work from home while caring for young children.
Over time, the strain affects productivity, mental health and long-term retention. For many women juggling these competing priorities, the cumulative impact can disrupt career progression or prompt them to consider leaving the industry altogether.
Service Stream chief people officer Sarah Bottomley says this was something the business could not ignore.
“School holidays consistently came up as a major challenge for our people, especially for women,” says Bottomley. “It made sense to look for a solution to this period rather than expecting people to work around it.”
Service Stream, in partnership with KidsCo, trialled a practical solution that acknowledged the lived experience of parents and carers and provided an alternate option when traditional flexibility wasn’t enough.
A simple trial with compelling outcomes
The initial three-day pilot provided engaging, structured care for children in Service Stream’s Melbourne office while parents worked nearby. Sixty children attended, and the atmosphere in the office was noticeably lighter. Employees could focus on their tasks without the stress of juggling competing responsibilities, and their children had a new, safe and exciting experience.
In a post-pilot survey, every participant said the program improved workplace culture, nearly 90 per cent said it supported their mental health and wellbeing, and on average, they gained three to four extra productive hours per day. Every female participant said the program made them more likely to stay with the organisation.
For an industry focused on improving gender equity, that signal is powerful.
Scaling up with intent
The success of the pilot prompted Service Stream to expand the program. To date, 12 days of school holiday care have been delivered across multiple offices and operational sites, supporting 200 parents and carers. The organisation continues to expand the program with a further five sessions, or 15 days of care, so far planned for 2026.
“We heard repeatedly that this program took pressure off parents and carers in a meaningful way,” says Bottomley. “When your people tell you something is supporting their wellbeing, their focus and their ability to stay with the organisation, you invest in it.”
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A different kind of innovation
School holiday programs remain rare in Australian workplaces and almost unheard of in construction and infrastructure sectors. Service Stream’s approach stands out for its simplicity, practicality and immediate impact.
By providing a safe, engaging, on-site care option, the organisation offers an alternative to the usual choices of taking leave, reducing hours or trying to work from home with children in the background. The program also brings families and colleagues closer together, creating a connected workplace culture.
Service Stream was recently recognised for this program and awarded Most Innovative DE&I Program and Initiative at the 2025 Empowered Women in Trades (EWIT) Gala Awards held in Melbourne.
At EWIT, we often say that real inclusion isn’t built in policies or posters; it’s built in the lived experience of your people. What Service Stream has created with this school holiday program is an example of what happens when you listen deeply, respond authentically and design solutions that acknowledge the whole human, not just the worker.
Caring responsibilities have always been one of the biggest barriers for women staying and progressing in trades. Service Stream didn’t try to ‘fix the women’; they fixed the system around parents. This is what modern leadership looks like. It’s practical, it’s human-centred and it sends a clear message: you belong here and we are willing to evolve to keep you here.
A model worth following
The construction and infrastructure sectors face ongoing challenges in attracting and retaining diverse talent. While many organisations offer flexible work, very few address school holiday pressures in such a direct and practical way, especially where roles often require physical presence.
Service Stream’s school holiday program provides a practical blueprint for organisations looking to create workplaces where parents and carers can thrive.
The program is successful because it tackles the structural, gendered impact of caring responsibilities. It recognises that employees don’t operate in two separate worlds of work and home, and that supporting them holistically is key to long-term inclusion.
It also shows that workforce support doesn’t always require complex systems. Sometimes, it just requires listening and responding with something that makes life easier.
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