A free course to encourage more women to work in construction will start in Salford on February 28.

Various organisations including Keepmoat Homes and Inspiring Communities Together are teaming up to help women see the potential of jobs in the male-dominated industry.

For five weeks, women will be able to gain skills during various learning sessions and workshops as well as developing their practical skills.

Julie Baker, social and economic impact manager at Keepmoat Homes, said: “As a business, Keepmoat Homes has been part of the Build Salford initiative for a number of years and realised we wanted to do more to help people enter the industry particularly women.

“It made sense to tweak our programme and design it to provide an insight in to the construction industry for women. Following our intensive two- day course participants can then opt to sign up for the full Build Salford traineeship which is delivered over a longer period and is a full-time programme.”

She added: “We however don’t run this programme in isolation and are pleased that, alongside our partners Salford City Council, Inspiring Communities Together, Salix Homes and Connexions, we can have a positive impact on the local people and hopefully inspire the future talent to join the construction industry.”

Construction is renowned for being a male-dominated industry, though the gap is closing in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) roles.

A study by Randstad found that although women make up just under 20 per cent of the construction workforce in the UK, they are paid on average 14 per cent less than their male counterparts despite doing the same job.

The aim of this initiative is to support equal opportunities, especially for local women who are interested in the construction industry.

For more information about the programme, please contact Inspiring Communities together at 0161 743 3625.

Or you can book a place by emailing julie.baker@keepmoat.com

 

Image credit: Flickr 

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