Construction Newsletter Issue 15 - Spring
Celebrating
Women
in construction
Celebrating our women in construction
Built by both International Women's Day is celebrated on 8th March annually and at Wembley Park, we celebrate all the women who work in the construction industry and encourage rising talent to join our team. The working population in the UK has an approximately equal split of men and women, but around 320,000 women work in construction, meaning women currently only occupy around only 14 per cent of the construction workforce. Whilst a lot still needs to be done to close the gender gap in the construction industry, we are proud to have 48% women at the Wembley Park development (including temporary employees) and stay committed to building and maintaining a diverse workplace with equal representation of men and women throughout all levels in the business. This can only be achieved by ensuring that we attract a diverse pool of candidates to our business, as well as providing appropriate support and development opportunities. We take pride in having working partnerships with contractors that are taking steps to encourage talented women to start careers in construction. The Wembley Park development is still under construction, and in order to achieve completion, we are recruiting for a variety of roles in the building phase of the development. As well as on-site roles,
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the scope of the project requires people to fill a wide range of positions in the supporting services. Construction involves more than just what you see on a building site. There is a huge range of career choices in the industry including skilled manual labour, project management, IT, marketing, design and much more. We interviewed some of the women across Wembley Park and here’s what they had to say: Apprentice Site Manager What are the duties of your role? "I have been assisting engineers, arranging site visits and work experience placements within the local community, helping towards the Considerate Constructors Scheme." What made you apply to work in construction? "The variation of both office and sitebased work." Tower Crane Operator What made you apply to work in construction?
"Independence and finding something I love." What’s been the lowlight of your apprenticeship to date ? "I wish I'd known about construction and the opportunities available to me when I was at school, I would have gotten into it a lot sooner. From my own experience and talking to my friends, there was not really much exposure to this at school i.e. careers fairs etc." What would you say to someone considering a career in construction? "Go for it! It has many varied opportunities and you don’t have to necessarily do what you initially trained for forever, you can diversify and go on to work in the different streams/functions that support the built environment." We support a range of education talks and site visits with a key focus on women in construction; including site visits and open doors. If you are interested in us facilitating a session, please email: skills@wembleypark.com
"I wanted to do something different and I have a knowledge of construction through family. Found out about the apprenticeship through word of mouth, from a friend of dad’s." What’s been the highlight of your position to date?
Customer voicebox: 0800 021 3245
Tower Crane Operator at Wembley Park
@wembleypark