In comparison, 79 per cent of job applications in education and 78 per cent in office and administration were made by women.
Speaking to Paula Meredith, operations engineer at the Rotorua Lakes Council, she said there were a number of factors influencing a woman's decision to train in these fields.
Applications worded in intimidating language, women putting their family first and society's preconceived notions about who should be in the role, were just three she mentioned.
But the situation is not without improvement. We also spoke to three women taking a Toi Ohomai automotive course.
Charmaine Rimene, Jess Milner-Hicks and Freesia Murray are passionate about cars and were unshaken by the industry being male-dominated.
Their tutor commented that he was seeing more women taking up the course, which indicates things are starting to change - albeit slowly.
It is not enough to have a few women in male-dominated industries to claim gender balance. All girls should be taught from a young age that these jobs are just as much an option for them as they are for their brothers.
I can only speak of my own experiences but from a young age I was praised for my reading and writing and when I showed little aptitude for maths, it was practically forgotten about.
I do wonder how much of my ineptitude for maths came down to me subconsciously believing I wasn't meant to be good at it because of my gender.
The subliminal messaging of gender roles was there when I was a child and I still see it occasionally today.
The more we break that messaging down and disband archaic gender roles, the more change we'll see in the workforce.
