B&Q TradePoint, the leading home improvement retailer’s trade brand, has today published research highlighting a damning gender barrier for female school leavers looking to enter the Trade industry in the UK.
Ahead of GCSE results days, half of surveyed girls aged 16-18 say they haven’t been offered the same opportunities to enter the Trade sector as their male counterparts, despite 4 in 10 considering a career in the industry while at school.
When asked why they would avoid a Trade career, 16–18-year-old girls said their top three reasons were a lack of information provided by their school (37%), and the feeling that the industry is too male-dominated (27%) or too intimidating (23%). This was followed by a lack of apprenticeship options (21%) and the concern that they weren’t strong enough (19%).
The survey also reveals a critical lack of role models for girls to look up to in the sector, with three-quarters of 16-to-18-year-olds saying they’re unaware of any women currently working as a tradesperson. Over half of all respondents who considered a career in the industry believe seeing more women in Trade would have convinced them to pursue it.
The results add context to recent findings from Kingfisher[1] – B&Q’s parent company – that only 2% of tradespeople in the UK are women. With the nation potentially missing out on up to £98 billion by 2030 thanks to a lack of tradespeople, according to the same report, the industry must do all it can to welcome emerging talent rather than shutting doors.
B&Q TradePoint is looking to address this challenge face on. B&Q is investing over £1 million in funding trade apprenticeships – using the apprenticeship levy Transfer to Transform scheme – and wants as many of those places to go to women as possible. So far, of the 110 apprentices currently being funded, only one is a woman.
Amélie Gallichan-Todd, supply & logistics director and inclusivity lead at B&Q, commented: “It’s evident that there is a significant disparity between the increasing interest and participation of women in DIY and their representation in the Trade sector. We want to attract more women into trade professions and that starts at school. Through our funding of trade apprentices and research into the barriers preventing more girls from becoming trade professionals, we hope to create a more equitable future for women in Trade.”
“I’m a firm believer that ‘you cannot be what you cannot see’ and so we need to see more role models for girls to look up to in the trade sector. A key defining moment in my own career was seeing a young woman managing a large warehouse. I distinctly remember saying to myself “if she can do it, I can!”.
B&Q TradePoint has been looking to collaborate with female trade professionals to provide more encouragement and inspiration for young girls looking to enter the industry. One example is Mary Little, a professional fibrous plasterer of more than 15 years. Mary has taken an oath to be a freeman of London and is aiming to become the first female Master Plasterer.
Speaking about her own journey into the Trade industry, Mary said: “I’ve been training to be a Traditional Fibrous Plasterer since I was a young girl, so nothing was ever going to get in the way of me following my dream. That being said, I know as well as any the challenges we still face as an industry to be more inclusive and welcoming for diverse talent. This sector has so much to give and I am glad to be working with B&Q to help show young people – both male and female – that it’s a viable and exciting career path for them.”
B&Q invites industry stakeholders, partners, and the wider community to join them in this mission, as they work towards creating a future where women thrive in a more balanced trades industry.
To learn more about how to access B&Q’s funding of trade apprenticeships, please click https://www.trade-point.co.uk/getonthetools.
