Inspiring Women in Construction

We’re pleased to say that all of our Russell WBHO #BuildingStudent trainees are undertaking construction-related degrees and working on live projects, experience which will take them into those high level professional construction roles in the future.

We are continuing to work hard to encourage more young women to consider a career in construction and apply for our training programme in the years ahead.

In a world where you often have to #SeeItToBeIt we want to take the opportunity afforded by #InternationalWomensDay and #WomenInConstructionWeek to celebrate the talented and hardworking women we have in our own business and highlight the opportunities that are available.

“If the industry is to successfully encourage more young women to come into construction, we need to show them the opportunities out there and the women already working in the profession” said Abbie, a final year trainee on the Russell WBHO Building Student training scheme.

“Events like International Women’s Day and Women in Construction Week are really important for that. By shining a spotlight on those already working in our industry, we can play our part in inspiring others to join us.”

Abbie (seen below with local MP Kate Green on a visit to NOMA) is one of a number of Russell WBHO employees who goes into schools and colleges to do talks and careers events on behalf of the company.

“We’re often faced with assumptions and the perception that construction isn’t a female-friendly profession, but the fact that we’re here doing it every day proves that isn’t the case.

“When we go into schools and colleges we just talk about what qualifications you need, what working for the company is like, and what we love about the work, just as any employee would. But the fact that it is a woman telling that story sends a simple message to the girls in the audience, you can do this too.”

It was her experience of seeing women working in the profession which helped second year trainee Isabelle decide to apply for a professional apprenticeship with Russell WBHO. Both of her parents are trained building services engineers, and a visit to mum’s work proved to be the inspiration.

She said: “It never occurred to me that I couldn’t work in construction, I’ve never seen the distinction of me being female. But it was only when I heard from a young woman at my mum’s work I thought it might be something I would enjoy. I started looking into it and liked the idea of a professional apprenticeship where I’d learn on the job, earn a wage and study for a degree which was funded by my employer.

“I researched companies offering the apprenticeship and saw photos of female employees on the Russells website, and was reassured that I wouldn’t be the only girl in the company. When I started I realised there was quite a high proportion of female staff in the business, in fact there’s more female trainees in Y1 and Y2 than males.

“It didn’t bother me coming into a traditionally male-dominated profession and since I’ve been at Russells there’s never been any issues with my being a woman, the female apprentices are treated exactly the same as the men.

“I’m really enjoying the job and have learned so much from all the different departments we rotate through. Working in site management, engineering and quantity surveying has been great and am looking forward to my upcoming rotations in buying and health and safety. If anyone is looking for a fantastic training programme to come into construction, they should apply here because it’s really good.”

First year trainee Elizabeth has also had a really positive experience since joining the business. Her father and brother are both in construction and she considered it a natural option post A-Level. “I’ve always been encouraged to go for what I want and everyone was totally supportive of me applying for a job in construction. I understand the perception of construction being a very male dominated industry but it really doesn’t matter when you’re on site, everyone is treated the same and everyone is really professional and nice.

“I was quite surprised when I got here and there were five girls and three guys in the first two year groups, that was unexpected but it just goes to show that the company is totally open to giving women the chance to get into the industry. And there have been fully qualified senior women in all of the departments I’ve worked in so far. That’s really important for us to have someone to look up to and see that we can progress, we can do it too.”

For more information about the Russell WBHO Building Student training programme keep an eye on the careers section of the website or follow us on Linked In where we will advertise the next round of applications opens.

https://russellwbho.co.uk/careers/

Building Student trainees Elizabeth (Y1) and Isabelle (Y2) on site