With support from the Developing Young Workforce Glasgow Opportunity Fund, staff from BAM will deliver a ten week programme encouraging S3 female pupils to consider the construction industry as a career. Each session, which will take up a full day, will include industry talks, practical demonstrations on site, visits to live projects, presentations on employability skills and work experience placements. At the end of the programme the pupils will be awarded an SVQ Level 1 qualification.

Claire Anderson, programme manager for BAM Construction, said: “We have twelve enthusiastic pupils signed up for the programme which is really encouraging. The programme will enable us to provide a far more detailed insight into the variety of jobs and career pathways available than our usual taster days. Our team are really looking forward to it.”

Lisa Blain from Lourdes Secondary added: “The Ready, Steady, Girls, Construct! programme has been really valuable and has helped our pupils to understand and appreciate the wide variety of employability opportunities within construction.

“The diversity of the programme has meant that each pupil has had the opportunity to experience a work placement within construction, participate in college taster sessions, and engage in workshops with numerous professionals, as well as undertaking a construction qualification. It has been a fantastic chance to engage our young people in the wider world of construction and allow them to fully understand the opportunities that exist for them.”

Gender diversity remains an ongoing challenge for the UK construction industry with females representing around 14% of the workforce.

BAM is actively engaged in creating a more balanced workforce through a number of UK schools and careers projects. www.bam.co.uk.

Catch up with the rest of Scottish Construction Now’s International Women’s Day feature here.