Construction companies are being encouraged to attract more women into the industry in order to secure top talent, according to a recent CITB ConstructionSkills survey.

The survey, carried out during National Careers Week, (5 – 9th March), revealed that 60% of respondents felt it was important for employers to attract more females into construction in order to 'attract more talented individuals'.

On this question one respondent commented: "We are already proving that women are more than capable of handling the industry roles, we need more!" Another offered - "If 50% of the people using a building are female, why would you not include women in the design and build team?" Others suggested that the industry needs to "shed its poor image" and that the "existing attitudes in the industry create barriers to women".

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Commenting on the findings, Janette Welton-Pai, Sector Strategies Manager for Careers at CITB-ConstructionSkills said: "It's really encouraging to see the comments and enthusiasm around increasing the number of women in the industry - it's hugely important to have the widest possible talent pool to draw from irrespective of gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity or faith. We need quality candidates coming into the industry and in particular, there are so many examples of women doing really well in the industry, but we still need to challenge some prevailing misconceptions that are damaging to our efforts to attract the best talent.

"The findings also have a really positive story to tell around the progression opportunities in construction and it's really important to relay this to young people. However, there's clearly still a need for improvement around management and supervisor training - these skills are hugely important and while it's great that people are moving up the ranks, it's vital that they are supported and given the management tools they need to do the best possible job".

The CITB-ConstructionSkills Management and Supervisory Development Team works with Federations, Employers, Training Groups and other industry stakeholder to help secure funding for management training.

To find out more go to www.cskills.org/aboutus/productsservices/msdp.aspx

(HMc)