Product category:
Construction companies
News Release from: Higgins Construction
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 10 February 2004
Work placements for newly qualified
tradeswomen
Higgins Construction PLC, estate regeneration specialist, is the UK's first contractor to commit its own direct funding to work placements for newly qualified tradeswomen.
As part of a London-wide project to increase the number of women in the construction industry, Higgins Construction PLC, estate regeneration specialist, is the UK's first contractor to commit its own direct funding to work placements for newly qualified tradeswomen (improvers) Higgins is part of the Building Work for Women (BWW) partnership, which works with housing associations and contractors to provide women with construction work placements
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 23 Sep 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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The pioneering BWW partnership is being delivered by Women's Education in Building, the largest women's construction skills training organisation in Europe as part of the Women Building London (WBL) campaign.
The bulk of public funding (provided by the London Development Agency) for the WBL scheme ends at the end of 2004, so initiatives such as the partnership help to ensure the longevity of the campaign by bringing in independent funding.
The Higgins initiative begins in partnership with the Presentation Housing RSL (registered social landlord) on the ?110 million regeneration of the Silwood Estate in the London Borough of Lewisham.
Three women are benefiting from a programme of 13-week placements in carpentry and painting and decorating on the Silwood Estate regeneration project.
Whilst only one per cent of tradespeople in the UK construction sector are women (according to the Construction Industry Training Board), BWW is already redressing this imbalance with placements provided for over 80 women, 75% of whom are going into employment.
"With ever-increasing shortages of construction skills, it is vital that the industry realises that recruiting, training and employing women makes good business sense," said WEB's Construction Liaison Manager Caroline Tomiczek.
"We are working closely with employers to continually develop more training and work opportunities for women.
Higgins has seized a great opportunity and is ahead of the game to harness the enormous potential contribution women can make in construction." The Silwood Estate is one of 30 where Higgins is the lead contracting partner for regeneration work.
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