Women
in Construction Week highlights women as an invaluable part of the construction
industry. Across this year’s awareness week which runs from 6-12 March, we will
be speaking with three female members of the Tilia Homes team to raise
awareness of the growing role of women in the industry and to share why they
think construction presents a golden opportunity as a career choice.
In our
final instalment, we hear from Bella Warren, assistant site manager at Roundhouse
Gate for
Tilia Homes Eastern.
How did
you get into the construction industry?
My dad
and my stepdad work in the industry and they had both encouraged me to consider
a career within construction. I always thought about it and did wonder about
painting and decorating – but I didn’t originally feel confident enough to
pursue it. I was midway through doing my A levels when I suddenly had a change
of heart. I looked into a Level 1 course in painting and decorating instead and
decided to go for it. Following this, I secured an apprenticeship with the
local council for three years. I went self-employed when I was 21 and started
dipping into site work. It was at this point that I realised that I wanted to
progress beyond just painting and decorating. I applied for an assistant site
manager traineeship with a national housebuilder and in 2017, at the age of 22,
I became a fully-fledged assistant site manager.
Tell us
about your typical day
I
arrive on site at 7:30am where there will be a queue of people to induct. I’ll
sort out the permits to dig and allocate work. At 9:00am we have a daily
briefing with all the site supervisors. This is where we cover the activities
of the day, any hazards we need to address, whether scaffolding or materials
need ordering, etc. Next is a site walk to check everything is in order. Then,
throughout the remainder of the day, I’ll be ordering or chasing materials and
dealing with customers where needed. I love my job. Every day is different. I meet
such a mix of people and I’m outdoors for a good deal of the time. There is
some desk time in the site office too. It’s a good mix and strikes the right
balance for me.
Tell us
about your favourite project you have worked on
Before
I was at Tilia Homes, I worked on a site in Costessey, just outside Norwich. It
was a difficult build. There was very little storage space for materials,
making it a challenge to keep the site in order. A new site manager and I were
assigned as the site had become quite a mess. I got a real sense of
satisfaction from completely turning it around to such an extent that we were
awarded a five-star rating with the Home
Builders Federation.
How has
the participation of women in construction changed over the years?
It has
changed a lot in just the 10 years I’ve been within the industry. There were
only a few women on my college course. When I started out on my traineeship, I
was the only female out of about 90 employees. I remember it being a big thing
and I didn’t honestly think it would be like that. It is more common nowadays to
see women around a typical site. I love that we currently have a female bricklayer
at Roundhouse Gate and I’ve come across most other female trades now – however
I’ve never seen any women groundworkers. I hope a female presence continues to
increase industry-wide.
What
stereotypes do you perceive for women in construction?
Being a
woman in the construction industry has never posed a problem for me. On the
whole, my male colleagues are incredibly supportive and I’ve had no bad
experiences. Sometimes, if someone comes into the site office when a male
labourer happens to also be there, they can automatically assume that he is the
one in charge, rather than me. I don’t take offence; I just find it amusing,
especially when they realise who they should be directing their questions to. I
have also been asked on more than one occasion, “Wouldn’t you rather be doing
something in beauty or hairdressing?” I just say: “No, wouldn’t you?!”
Why
should women be getting into the construction industry?
It is a
well-paid industry. I’d say if you work hard, you can progress quickly and
become really successful. For my part, I’d like to see more women just to
create a more diverse working environment. Men and women do think differently. Women
bring a different perspective, approaching problems from a different angle. They
have more attention to detail as well; this is a must when it comes to
finishing plots. We’ve found that having a woman on site has calmed a lot of
situations down; the workforce just acts differently when it’s purely male-based.
How do
you support and encourage women in construction?
I’m proud
to say that my younger sister is currently training to be a building inspector
and I hope that I’ve played some small part in that. When other women ask me about
working in this industry, they usually have a stereotypical view of a building
site, as well as the men within it. It feels good to offer them a different
perspective, helping them see beyond the male stereotypes. I share my
experiences and explain how working in this role enables me to rise to a
challenge every day. I tell them about how respectful and supportive my male
colleagues are; for instance, I’ve had labourers ask me about how I got into site
management because they want to encourage their daughter to do so.
What is
your advice to women wanting to get into construction?
If you
decide to go into site management, you will need to have thick skin and be
prepared to always be the bad guy; you’re never the bearer of good news. If
you’re not sure about which route to take, pursue a trade like I did as you’ll always
have it to fall back on. But overall, don’t overthink it; just go for it!