We’re celebrating International Women’s Day (Wednesday 8 March) which recognises women’s achievements, raises awareness about discrimination and brings attention to women’s rights and gender equality across the globe.
This year the theme is Embrace Equity which focuses on ‘why equal opportunities aren’t enough’ because it can lead to exclusion rather than inclusion. The words equity and equality are often used interchangeably but actually mean different things. Equality is about being equal in status, rights, and opportunities, whereas equity is about how we get there through fairness and impartiality.
Through our Women in Trades campaign, LiveWest has appointed seven female trade apprentices in the last year and now has 18 female trades in its 420-strong trades operation. We're seeking to increase that figure as we continue to promote inclusion and diversity in all areas of the organisation.
One of those women who joined the industry is Jenny Filby. She took the apprenticeship route to change careers to get into housing development and train as an Aftercare Consultant.
Jenny, 35, originally trained and worked as a hairdresser for two years but didn’t feel it was the right career path for her, so she decided to get a temporary contract to save up. She then worked as a Regional Manager with AutoGlass for 15 years but had worked on projects with teams from LiveWest so was familiar with aspects of the job.
Despite having never worked in housing before she wanted to give it a go as she wasn’t enjoying her employment at Kier Homes so after joining LiveWest, she decided to enhance her skills and take on an apprenticeship through Exeter College because it offered her the chance to try something different.
Jenny said: “I started in September on a level three because my hairdressing qualification wasn’t anything to do with construction but then my tutor moved me up to a level four. The tutors are good, and the classes are nice but there are also a few people in my class who I’ve worked with before through the company.
“I was quite apprehensive to start with because of my age so I thought that may be a bit old to start something as when I was in the level three, I was with college-aged students but now I’ve moved up there is a bit more of a mix.
“I had a general idea of what the course entailed because my colleague, Alex, was already on the course so he has been able to help as well as other people on apprenticeships so that’s made a big difference.”
Jenny has developed her skills for life further alongside her apprenticeship and completed several projects refurbishing homes, although she already had a basic understanding of retrofit, she took the opportunity to take what she already knew to get a Level Two Award in Understanding Domestic Retrofit which is a recognised qualification.
Jenny said: “I had a basic understanding of it, so it was useful to take it further and gain more knowledge. This qualification was relevant to my last job role, but it was interesting to learn about retrofit and making homes more energy efficient.”
As an Aftercare Consultant, Jenny works in housing development focusing on new builds homes. Jenny spends one day a week at college at the Future Skills Centre which will enhance and progress her knowledge of the area she is working in. Even though her workload has increased, she feels LiveWest has been supportive and encouraged her to do the apprenticeship because of the opportunities it would give her.
Jenny supports more women coming into trades and despite being the only women on her course she wants to encourage women to pursue a career in the industry and make it more diverse going forward.
Jenny said: “I think LiveWest has been fantastic in supporting me with my construction course. I am the only female on my course, however it’s great to see a growing number of women in our trades team and I know some of which are also apprentices.
“I feel fully supported in what is an area that is improving in diversity from an environment dominated by men and do believe LiveWest is pushing to make this industry more diverse. I have been given an opportunity that I may not had if it wasn’t for LiveWest, who also employed me following a cancer diagnosis and have also fully supported me through this journey as well.
“I moved from the original course to the higher level one which was more work, but it is worth it. Because it’s in-person it’s nice to go in and you’re with a group of people where you’re all learning with but you’ve also got different people from a variety of roles who you can learn from.
“I would definitely recommend the apprenticeship to anyone. I think you would be silly not to if you’ve got a company like LiveWest who will support you in doing that.”