Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s historic SS Great Britain was the stunning back drop for our celebration event, marking the end of the Women into Construction Employment Programme in Bristol – a fitting location to celebrate the women who have discovered the amazing careers on offer across construction and engineering sector in the South West!

WiC partnered with The Hill Group and The Guinness Partnership to deliver our first programme in the South West of England, focused on their McArthurs Yard development – located just behind the SS Great Britain. Supported by DWP, The Restore Trust and contractors Jeff Way, Tivoli, Rider Levitt Bucknall, and JS Wright, this project aimed to increase the awareness of construction to local women and help them make connections with local job opportunities in the sector.

Ten women were recruited in September 2022 and started the programme with big smiles and positive attitudes. As part of the programme the women received 1-2-1 advice, guidance and mentoring from WiC Project Coordinator Meriel Rosser, technical training in Health & Safety and CSCS cards from The Restore Trust and two week’s work placements with Hill and Guinness subcontractors on site at McArthurs Yard and across Bristol.

We caught up with Dominika at the event to ask what she enjoyed most about the programme; ‘For me it was amazing to be able to find a flexible programme that allowed me to try construction skills whilst still juggling my busy life of 3 kids and a part time job – I now know that carpentry is for me and I intend to pursue this career with a passion!’

We are thrilled that two women have already successfully gained jobs with participating employers, and the others are continuing to progress their ambitions in construction with the ongoing support of WiC.

Head of Business Development for WiC, Jacqui Wordsworth attended the event and told us, “Huge thanks to The Hill Group, The Guinness Partnership and The Restore Trust for helping us create such a fantastic employment programme. It was inspiring to work with such an engaged group of women and celebrate their success at the event’.

Additional thanks go to Helen Dobbs, Claire Gould and the team at The Guinness Partnership, Mark O’Neill, Lauren Kennet and the Hill team at McArthurs Yard, Alan Bell and the team at the Restore Trust.

Please visit our Programme page for details about other exciting programmes we are holding!