East Midlands Mayor says more women needed in construction to help fill 17,000 new jobs
Female leaders in the construction industry and female students met with the mayor to promote the need for more women in the industry
By Callum Wright
East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward says more women should be encouraged to enter the construction industry to help fill more than 17,000 new jobs the sector is expected to need within three years.
Labour’s Ms Ward visited Nottingham College’s Basford campus this week to meet women in construction leaders from the region and promote the need for more diversity across the industry.
The Construction Industry Training Board’s Construction Skills Network Report says an extra 17,500 construction workers will be needed by 2028 to meet demand in the East Midlands as development accelerates.
Ms Ward also met students at the college’s Construction Skills Centre, and ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, she spoke of the importance of meeting demands by encouraging more women to get involved.
“We know we can’t recruit those just from men, we need to encourage more women to get involved in this [construction], at the moment they only make up 15 per cent of the construction industry sector so we are both encouraging these sort of skills but also for young women to get involved in that,” she said.
“I want young women and all young people to look at the opportunities for their future careers and get the best skills and best well paid jobs to make a huge contribution to this region and beyond.
“Lots of young women look at industries like bricklaying and plastering and perhaps don’t think that’s for them, they maybe don’t have any role models and not seen other women doing those jobs, so what we’re seeing here today is other young women on those courses and I want to shine a light on that and encourage diversity.”
The College is home to the region’s largest construction training facility, and the opening of the new Construction Skills Centre in 2024 meant up to around 1,000 young people between 16-18 could access construction training and qualifications every year.
One student, 17 year-old Lily Smith, spoke about the need for more role models for young women in construction. She is the only girl in her class.
“I feel like women get scared off by the fact it is a male-dominated industry, which they shouldn’t,” she said.
“Events like this 100 per cent help, if young girls see that there are women building then they might be encouraged to also do it.”
Janet Smith, chief executive and principal of Nottingham College, says it is developing a “vibrant curriculum” that promotes inclusivity in industries.
“Construction is such a vibrant sector with so much opportunity, it’s reshaping every day – to introduce young people and women in particular to the opportunities that are now out there is crucial,” she said.
“One of the things we have to work hard to do is to break down stereotypes and barriers to entry to certain fields, areas like construction can feel typically male but we have more and more female students coming in and we have quite a few female construction staff as well who are active role models.”
The Labour Government has set a target of building 1.5 million new homes in England by 2029 to tackle a shortage of housing which is affecting house prices creating a shortage of social housing.
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