Taster day held to inspire more women into our industry

Rydon’s refurbishment scheme, the Ashmole Estate in Lambeth, was host to a dedicated women’s trade taster day to encourage more women into our industry on Tuesday 23rd July.

The day was an opportunity for women to find out more about working in the construction and maintenance industry as well as the opportunities that will be offered through the next women-only Live Train programme.

All women who attended had the opportunity to try their hand at plumbing, plastering, tiling and brickwork. Georgia Hardie, who completed one of Rydon’s Prince’s Trust Get into Construction programmes and is now an ambassador for the charity, was on hand to answer questions and offer advice alongside Live Train experts Rod Shepherd and Mark Dixon.

Following an interview process, the female trainees will start the nine-week programme, based at Ashmole Estate, from mid August. And thanks to space lent by Travis Perkins, they will also have access to a specialist new training centre based nearby to hone their trade skills.

The programme has been designed to help tackle the lack of women in our industry, despite it being one of the most important sectors in the UK economy. According to the government, women in construction make up just 10% of the workforce with just 1% in manual professions.

Rydon has been working on Metropolitan's Ashmole Estate on the first of a two phase scheme to upgrade 350 properties. Work includes the installation of new kitchens, bathrooms, double-glazed windows, a new district heating system and overcladding of two tower blocks. Work is being delivered over the next five years and started on site in September 2011.

For more information on Live Train, click here.

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