Women embrace the opportunity to give a variety of trades a go with our Women in Trades Taster Day.
Women were invited along to the taster day, held at Exeter College Construction Centre, to try their hands at a variety of skills including plastering, soldering pipes, and carpentry.
As we look to diversify our workforce and boost the number of women coming into the trade’s profession, this was an opportunity for women of all ages and level of experience to dip their toes into the profession and find out if it’s right for them.
LiveWest tradespeople and Exeter College tutors were on hand to help attendees and to give them more information on different types of roles and apprenticeships, whether that be to kickstart or change their career.
Pamela Stone, 43, who has three children and has been a hairdresser for nearly 30 years decided to come along after seeking a career change.
Pamela said: “I thought I would try a different trade. I had my own salon as I lived in Australia for 12 years and I did an apprenticeship since I was 15 so that was quite a few years ago. I had two salons but when we moved back to England, I wanted to try a fresh start.
“I was a little bit reluctant because of my age, I am a tenant of LiveWest, so I get the maintenance people out every so often, but they're always reliable and they're just friendly. And it seems like a good company to get involved with.
“Do you know what? Women of our age, we have got the skills. We've been there, done the kiddy time, so now it's our time to shine and show our skills.
“It’s been absolutely fantastic, I came on my own but I’ve a very chatty person as you can tell but everyone has been very warm and friendly, it’s really great to get a taster of everything to see what I want to go into trade wise.”
Tania Santos is a cleaner and waitress who jumped at the opportunity to attend after spotting an email from LiveWest promoting the day.
Tania said: “I’m about to lose my job next week actually so I’m just looking for a new experience in my life. I think it came at the right time, so I decided to come along.
“It’s been amazing, and I’ve experienced things I haven’t done before. We’ve had a laugh, but it’s also been quite stressful at times because I want to do it perfectly and there are lots of people looking at me, but it’s been really great! It’s been brilliant and I think it should be done in more places.
Claudia Rodrigos has studied Forensic Science in Bristol but after struggling to find a career in this specialism, she was interested to find out if trades could be for her instead.
Claudia said: “I didn’t really know what to do career-wise as I’ve done the traditional route to university, so I wanted to taster on a stack of skills, so I think it’s good to give it a go really.
“The jobs just haven’t really been there in the South so I thought I would try something new. I would prefer more practical so I thought I would stick to that as I don’t really want to be behind a desk, or anything so give this a go really.
“It’s been really fun actually. I didn’t think I would like plastering or anything like that so it was great to give it a go and try it, I would recommend it.”
Mum, Raffi Morgan, is looking for a steadier career path after being in the hospitality industry.
She said: “I was trying to think of what I wanted to do, an actual career instead of just this and that. So, it clicked, and it sounded like a brilliant idea, and I'm glad I did, it’s been brilliant.
“I loved it, I tried carpentry first and it was definitely good fun. Then I did plumbing which I loved, I think that was my favourite and we did soldering together where we tested it out with the water pressure which was interesting actually.
“There's always need for trades people, isn't there? You're always going to have work. I’m a mum so it would be good for my daughter to see me doing this and be a good role model for her, it would just be nice and good to have a career and hopefully, fingers crossed in plumbing.”
Our colleague Elly-May Mangan attended the day to give her insight into working for the company after starting out as a Multi Skilled Trade (MST) Apprentice and progressing to an MST Improver.
She said: “It’s been great to be here today, we’ve had ten women here all looking at different practical careers. They’re all looking at different apprenticeships which are a little bit varied and something that we offer and some that are nice and broad. Most of them are covered in paint and having a really good time!
“I know for me I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do so I was lucky to do the multi trade apprenticeship but it’s always a risk, so if you’ve got the opportunity to give something a really good go and have a play with it before you step through the door, it’s always really helpful.
“There has never been a better time to give it a go, LiveWest offer a well-paid role, you’re paid the living wage, so you have the opportunity to go into something with safety and security, and you know you can give it a really good go.
“It’s a really great company, you’ve always got opportunities to move around, so give it a shot as it’s absolutely a good company to do that.”
Find out more about the apprenticeships on offer here.