The DTI hosted a conference in London in May to address the issue of why so few women wish to enter the construction industry. Rachel Epson of Epson Electrical and chair of WaMT, told the conference that there were now half as many tradeswomen in construction than there had been ten years ago.
Epson highlighted the harassment many tradeswomen received on site as one of the main causes for this decline and cited a case of one female electrician who, after spending five years on the tools, could no longer stand the harassment from male colleagues.
The CITB has forecast that the industry will need 76 000 new workers annually over the next five years. Brian Wilson, minister for construction, said: "The construction industry needs to change its 'macho culture' and stop cutting itself off from half the potential workforce in the country."
Suggestions made for achieving the 5% target by 2005 included the lifting of the 25-year age limit on apprenticeship grants and the introduction of funding to provide welfare facilities and childcare support for tradeswomen. Other ideas included mentoring schemes, action to ensure that equal opportunity requirements in tenders are implemented, dedicated equal opportunities officers, and wider use of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme.
Although not involved with the CITB, the electrical contracting sector backs initiatives to encourage women into the industry. ECA education and training manager Neil Cruickshank stated: "We have similar concerns about the low numbers of women and ethnic minorities in our industry. The ECA supports its training provider JTL's actions to attract women into the industry. These include targeted promotional literature and the setting up of a women-only course, with European funding, to train female electricians."
Source
Electrical and Mechanical Contractor
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