Earlier this week, on Wednesday 5th March, we co-hosted an event with the Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward, to launch a campaign aimed at attracting more women into the construction industry; while also showcasing the work we are already doing to support young women entering the sector.
The event took place at our Basford campus, in our brand-new £5.4m Construction Skills Centre, and welcomed regional female leaders, construction employers, and senior women in education.
This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is ‘Accelerating Action’, and Mayor Claire highlighted that the drive to bring more women into construction is a crucial example of where further progress is still needed.
With the construction industry facing a shortfall of more than 17,000 skilled workers in the region by 2028, Mayor Claire emphasised the need to encourage more women into the sector.
In attendance was also our Principal and CEO, Janet Smith. During the event, Mayor Claire engaged with our current female students, was shown our new facility by Janet Smith, and even had the opportunity to try out some construction skills herself.
Nottingham College CEO and Principal Janet Smith said:
The construction sector in the East Midlands is booming, to the point where we have almost struggled to keep up with demand for skills training.
The new Construction Skills Centre at our Basford campus is part of the answer to this challenge. We have invested heavily in state-of-the-art facilities which combine hands-on skills development with fully digitised classrooms.
While the numbers of women in the industry remains comparatively small, we’re seeing rising demand from female applicants for our courses, not just in traditional trades but in new areas of the industry where there is increasing momentum, such as photo-voltaics, heat pumps and other green skills
- Janet Smith, Principal and CEO of Nottingham College
Mayor Claire also announced that the East Midlands Combined County Authority’s (EMCCA) Careers Hub will fund Future Makers, a new initiative connecting young people with businesses to provide hands-on industry experience and guidance to help them explore career pathways.
Mayor Claire Ward said:
Encouraging and enabling more women to aim high in life isn’t just the right thing to do, there’s clear evidence it’s vital to the future of our economy.
The forecast skills shortage in construction will not be solved if it remains a male-dominated environment. That isn’t just bad for gender equality, it risks holding back ambition and restricting our ability to build and grow.
It’s been inspiring to meet and talk with female students here at Nottingham College, to see them in action and to understand their passion for progress. In construction and other industries, we need to open up opportunities and encourage women and girls to believe that anything is possible.
I’m therefore proud to announce our commitment to the Future Makers project so we can play an active role in breaking down barriers for young women entering construction, offering them the support, confidence, and connections they need to succeed in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
- Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands
