Around 50 Year 9 pupils from schools across Devon will attend the Devon Education Business Partnership-run Women in Construction event on Friday (January 20) at Exeter College to find out more about the many exciting opportunities available to them in the Construction industry.

Clearly demonstrating the 'Not for Girls' ethos sometimes associated with the industry carries no weight in the modern-day workplace, Exeter College Construction teaching staff, existing female Construction students, and local successful women already working in Construction will show the pupils, all girls aged 13 and 14, the broad variety of study and career options open to them.

In a series of workshops taking place throughout the day, they will be treated to taster sessions in everything from brickwork and painting and decorating to professional careers such as surveying, and basic design principles.

They will also be given a tour of Exeter College's Construction facilities at the faculty's Sowton-based skills training centre – recently revamped thanks to a £1 million expansion plan. Presented with certificates at the end of their visit, prizes will be awarded to those who performed best over the three subjects experienced.

It is now hoped that, as a result of the enjoyable experience, some of the girls may feel inspired to take up a Construction course at Exeter College with a view to then entering directly into employment in the building trade or going on to university.

Teachers and pupils are expected to attend from Exeter’s Isca and West Exe Schools and from Uffculme, Honiton and Cullompton.
This is the ninth year that Kathy Snow, Partnership Advisor for Exeter-based Devon Education Business Partnership, has organised the event “It originally started as an event supported by the Construction Industry Training Board which used to fund projects which promoted the Construction industry in schools but was so successful that we have continued to run it ever since..”

“The aim was – and remains – to encourage students to come into a college and get them interested in Construction at all levels, from bricklaying to architecture, finance and marketing. For the last six years, it has been hosted here at Exeter College because of the excellent facilities they can provide for the event.”

“While there are more women going into Construction now than perhaps a decade ago, there are still not enough. So it will be great to see female students already at College who are not that much older than the school pupils offering them such positive encouragement, as well as the women employers who have also kindly given up their time along with College staff to put on the workshops and show them around.”

Delighted that Exeter College was hosting the event for a sixth year running, Chris Whittaker, Head of the Construction Faculty, added: “We are pleased to host this event again this year to help promote construction careers to potential female students of the future. Our focus this year is mainly on painting and decorating, and our level 3 technician programmes. These are areas that naturally attract female employees who seem to do very well within the construction industry, whether that's working on building sites, in households or for large construction organisations as part of the design or management teams covering topics such as quantity surveying, structural engineering or site management.”

“We hope this extremely popular event will stimulate the pupils' interest in construction and will enable them to make more informed decisions about their future education and careers.”

The students will be joined by current female Construction students as well as representatives from regional industry experts. Jo Down, representing Cowlin and the National Skills Academy for Construction said “As a construction ambassador, I'm very proud to be involved in this event. The National Skills Academy for Construction's main focus is to encourage young people in to Construction. It's a brilliant day and has shown us that day's like this really do work!”

Rebecca Smith, Environmental Manager for Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, added “It is great to be involved in such an inspirational event. It is encouraging to see the students being enthusiastic about the different construction tasks and hope they leave with a new positive perspective to careers within the construction sector”