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New #notjustforboys careers campaign launched by Construction Youth Trust

Charity joins forces with CITB and its Go Construct campaign to provide young people with the resources needed to start a career in construction.

Construction Youth Trust notjustforboys

Construction skills charity the Construction Youth Trust this week launched new campaign which it hopes will boost the number of young people seeking careers in the built environment.

The campaign #notjustforboys aims, in particular, to challenge the misconception that construction careers are aimed only at men and will try to help more young women identify careers options within the breadth of the industry.

Construction Youth Trust Executive Director, Christine Townley said she wanted to get the more people 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,” she said.

“We are asking everyone to share their stories and join in the conversation at #notjustforboys,” she added. “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 works with young people between the ages of 14-30 to give access training and employment to those who lack adequate entry level training, where there is a local skills need and works in deprived communities to boost opportunity

Last year it published a report in partnership with the Smith institute “Building the Future: Celebrating Women in Construction” which highlighted that only 11% of construction workers are female and only 1% of those work on-site. The new #notjustforboys campaign hope to reverse this situation.

The campaign works with the CITB alongside its Go Construct campaign and website to provide people a range of useful and practical information about careers in construction including apprenticeships, work experience opportunities and the different career options.

For details visit www.constructionyouth.org.uk

#notjustforboys - a manifesto for change

The construction industry faces a potential recruitment crisis. There is a need for skills, experience and talent in all areas of the industry from the professions to the trades. We need architects and bricklayers; surveyors, site supervisors, project managers, plumbers, electricians and plasterers.

To help resolve this recruitment crisis and to build a construction industry for the 21st Century we believe that women must become a key part of the construction industry work force. We call for the following:

  • The encouragement of young women into the industry through the provision of appropriate courses and education;
  • Careers support for girls and young women to ensure that they see construction as a realistic option;
  • Employers’ action to address workplace sexism and the development of future family friendly policies;
  • Government funding of girls and young women onto construction based training courses;
If you would like to contact Antony Oliver about this, or any other story, please email antony.oliver@infrastructure-intelligence.com.