Bellway offers on-site placements as part of a national programme to get more women into the construction industry.
The housebuilder is offering work placements at two developments in Manchester as part of an initiative by Home Builders Federation to attract more women into site management.
The sites being considered for the placements are The Putting Green in Little Hulton and Park Gate Village in Knutsford.
Currently, women account for just 16 per cent of the construction workforce and four per cent of existing site managers in the industry.
Successful candidates will attend a week-long online training and insight session, between November 4 – 8, to develop their knowledge of site management, followed by a two-week on-site work placement between November 11 and 22, gaining hands-on experience and the opportunity to connect with potential employers.
Participants will be expected to start and finish on their designated site at the required times, usually 8.30am to 4.30pm, and the HBF will support them with travel expenses and childcare costs.
At the end of this three-week programme, candidates will be supported and encouraged to apply for live vacancies offered by participating employers and the wider industry.
Shelly McLean (pictured) was one of the first women to come though the scheme and is now relishing her role as a trainee assistant site manager at Bellway’s Primrose Grove development in Wimblington, Cambridgeshire.
The 41-year-old, from Huntingdon, said: “Without a programme like Women into Home Building, there’s no way on this planet that I would have considered being a site manager. It is not something that I thought was open to me, so Women into Home Building has been lifechanging.
“My goal is to become a construction director. That is a long way off, but I think it is achievable. My current construction director, Dean Takkou, who has been with Bellway for 25 years, is incredibly enthusiastic and makes you feel like you’re very capable. He is really encouraging.”
Ellie Hall, group resourcing and talent manager for Bellway, said: “We are proud to support this incredibly important programme which has been designed to address and overcome some of the barriers to women entering the housebuilding industry.
“This scheme increases general awareness of management careers within construction and gives women the opportunity to gain practical on-site management experience.”
Applications for the Women into Home Building scheme close at 5pm on Sunday, September 22. Those interested in the programme can apply at: https://www.hbf.co.uk/home-building-skills-partnership/women-home-building/programme/.
Image credit: Bellway
