Women in construction
Women into Construction
Career Changer Project
Encon Construction are an award-winning thought leader in the area of diversity and inclusion within the construction industry.
In 2019 we were awarded funding from CITB to deliver a Career Changers scheme focused on engaging women into trade roles within the construction industry. This successful framework of engagement was piloted to attract, recruit, and retain women through a holistic model that focuses on targeted grass roots recruitment, industry collaboration and culture.
Engagement and upskilling of 20 Women into Construction Trades.
Identification of how Agile / flexible working can be practically applied within Construction trades – changing the views of hiring managers to encourage more diversity in Recruitment within construction.
An increase in appropriately trained mentors and mentoring schemes within the construction workforce – leading to increase in retention of staff and reduced staff turnover / recruitment costs
Improved recruitment procedures that promote equality and diversity and therefore a resultant increase in diversity in the workforce - measured at end of year 1 and 2.
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Construction & the built environment is the UK’s least gender diverse industry where only 12% of the workforce is female. This figure has remained all but stagnant for the past 12 years as a result of failure to address culture and retention, and not solely new
entrant recruitment. When addressing women in trade
roles this figure plummets to less than 1%, and BAME representation sits at just 3%. In its first year the Career Changers Programme successfully:
- Engaged 20 Female career changers into paid trade roles in either – Painting & Decorating,
Plastering or Labour/Plant
- Put all ladies through an apprenticeship scheme whilst securing wages of at least minimum / living wage as opposed to 1st year apprentice rates
- Delivered additional work ready training for career changers includingm1-day Health & Safety & CSCS
/ Asbestos awareness / Manual Handling / Pasma / CPCS
- Delivered 6 days of additional CPD training for career changers to support the transition into the
construction environment
- Trained over 80 female mentors working in construction & the built environment
- Delivered unconscious bias to over 50-line managers/persons with recruitment
The success of the career changers programme is a direct result of focusing not only recruiting female
career changers into construction roles but addressing the structural and cultural barriers that prevent women from entering or remaining in the workforce.
- 029 2073 5111
- enquiries@encon.uk.com
- 10 Deryn Court, Wharfedale Road, Pentwyn, Cardiff, CF23 7HB.