Leading construction charity, Construction Youth Trust, has launched a new campaign this week aimed at encouraging young people to look at careers in the built environment.
Particularly focusing on changing the misconception that construction careers are aimed only at men, the campaign aims to get young people talking about which careers are best for them. The charity is hoping more young women will start to look at the hundreds of careers options the industry has to offer too.
Working with young people between the ages of 14-30, Construction Youth Trust provides access to training and employment to those who lack adequate entry level training, where there is a local skills need, in deprived communities and with specific social groups. The charity has been involved in encouraging more women into construction for many years. Last year, they released a report, Building the Future: Celebrating Women in Construction, in partnership with the Smith institute and supported by CITB and Wates Giving. The report showed only 11% of construction workers are female and only 1% of those on-site. The #notjustforboys campaign will play a vital role in their fight to get more young women into the industry.
Construction Youth Trust Executive Director, Christine Townley said about the campaign: "we want to get everyone talking about careers in construction. The industry has a great opportunity to inspire and recruit the next generation of tradesmen, tradeswomen and professionals and we need to show them that women can succeed in the industry."
A trained civil engineer, who practised in the industry for many years, she added: "We are asking everyone to share their stories and join in the conversation at #notjustforboys. We hope that this will bring about a sea change in thinking, and in practice, and inspire more organisations to join our mission to inspire, train and support the next generation of young women into the industry."
Construction Youth Trust have joined forces with CITB and their Go Construct campaign to ensure young people have all the resources they need to get their career started. The Go Construct website gives people access to a range of useful and practical resources about careers in construction including information about apprenticeships, work experience opportunities and the different career options.
