The Women into Construction Newham Employment Programme was born when eight contractors, Bouygues Uk/LinkCity, The Hill Group, Higgins Partnership, Kilnbridge Construction, Modebest Builders, Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure, O’Neill & Brennan and Populo Living, joined forces in East London to deliver social value targets locally.

The training element of the employment programme was delivered in partnership with The College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL) at The Community Link building in Newham.

The programme commenced with a great registration event at Newham Library in early March 2023. Here, 31 women were given a flavour of the career paths available in construction and engineering by listening to presentation’s from the participating employers. In return the women individually introduced themselves highlighting their interest in the industry. It’s safe to say that a spark was ignited because we were delighted to welcome 16 women onto the programme!

The programme consisted of;

• Speed Networking where the women could discuss their individual suitability to the construction roles on offer and were able to demonstrate their existing knowledge and qualifications as well as their transferable skills.
• Group site visit organised by Social Value Manager Monica Paul at Morgan Sindall Construction
• Employability training to enable the women to stand out during job application processes and interviews. It also included the BTEC Level 1 WorkSkills Award, Level 1 Health & Safety in the Construction Environment certificates and a CSCS card.
• Fire Marshall training organised by Paula Arkell-Waller’s team at Bouygues.
• Work placements including Quantity Surveying, Mechanical Engineering, Admin, Waste Management and Sie Management!
• Celebration Event where we celebrated the participants achievements and thanked everyone who supported in delivering the programme

WiC Project Manager Anna Walterskotter told us: ‘Having a multitude of contractors working in partnership has giving the women a chance to experience a wide range of career options. Meeting such a diverse group of stakeholders enabled the participants to understand the different types of roles and construction projects that could be available to them in the coming years in Newham and beyond. The site visit was really inspiring women to look into working on site e.g. as traffic marshall and fitters. And the additional training in fire marshalling and traffic marshalling are excellent stepping stones into entry level roles on site.’

We are delighted to confirm that four employment outcomes were achieved within three weeks of completing the programme and job brokerage is ongoing to find positions for the other women who completed the programme in the near future.

For further information about future Newham employment programmes, please contact Anna Walterskotter at Anna.walterskotter@women-into-construction.org