Michaela secured a site-based role with Currall Lewis and Martin
A pilot work experience programme on HS2 has resulted in eight women securing jobs within the construction sector.
A total of 15 women aged 24-54 signed up for the six-week Women into Construction programme.
Aimed at the unemployed, those looking for new opportunities and disadvantaged and underrepresented groups, it was developed, delivered and funded by HS2, Women into Construction, West Midlands Combined Authority, and South and City College.
After an initial two-week employability course, all 15 women gained their Health & Safety Level 1 accreditation, and 93% achieved their CSCS (Construction Skills Certificate Scheme) card. They women then moved on to complete four-week work experience placements with HS2 Ltd and local companies within its supply chain.
Following work placements on HS2, over half of those who enrolled on the programme have secured a job in the construction sector supporting the delivery of HS2.
Crucial role in delivery
HS2 skills manager Julie Venn Morton said: “Women are vastly underrepresented in the construction industry and that’s a trend that we’re passionate about reversing.Crucial
“With over 30,000 jobs expected to be supported by the project at the peak of construction, HS2 really does open up opportunities for people from all walks of life. This pilot project has shown that not only are women keen to get into the sector, but employers are actively looking to recruit them.
“This is just the start of what we’re striving to achieve at HS2. Women have a crucial role to play in the delivery of Britain’s biggest engineering project and we’ll continue developing innovative practices to ensure we bring them on board.”
Alison Tucker, project manager at Women into Construction, said: “We’re delighted to have partnered with HS2 Ltd, its supply chain and organisations in the West Midlands to deliver this pilot programme, and I hope it opens the doors for many more women in the months and years ahead.
“Construction programmes on the size and scale of HS2 really don’t come around very often, and it’s amazing that local women, who had no idea whether a role in construction was for them, are now part of the team helping to deliver this transformative rail project.”
The women who have gone on to secure full-time employment
- Rozie Harris, 30, from Stratford upon Avon took voluntary redundancy in March. She signed up for the Women into Construction Programme hoping to get into civil engineering, which she’d been passionate about since she was a child. Her father worked as a senior site engineer in both the rail and road industries. In just four weeks, she secured a full-time job with HS2’s early works contractor, Fusion as senior project engineer.
- Charlotte, 26, from Acocks Green, Birmingham had been working part-time as a lifeguard but wanted a full-time role that offered better career prospects. After a successful work experience placement with HS2’s tier two contractor Aecom, she has now secured work conducting ecology surveys across the West Midlands to help HS2 achieve its environmental commitments.
- Michaela (pictured), 30, was keen to secured a site-based role. Following a successful work placement with Currall Lewis and Martin (Construction), a subcontractor for LMJV on HS2’s West Midlands-based enabling works programme, she now has a full-time role with the company supporting the team in delivering ground clearance, site surveys and demolition works.
- Teena, 31, from Wolverhampton has been offered a five-year, degree-level civil engineering apprenticeship with HS2’s tier one contractor Jacobs.
- Jade, 35, from Handsworth in Birmingham was previously unemployed. She’s now taken up a full-time role with Effiage-Kier as operational support planner and co-ordinator and will be working on HS2’s phase one route, developing mapping solutions and engaging with local stakeholders.
- Helen, 36, from Oldbury wanted to break away from short-term temporary roles. She has now secured a full-time permanent contract with Total Training Solutions in Solihull, a training provider for the construction industry.
