Topic People, Women in construction
Date 08 Mar 2023
Morrison Construction’s Building Central team has marked International Women’s Day with a site visit aimed at young women interested in construction.
Organised in conjunction with Developing Young Workforce (DYW) – Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire, female students from Carluke High School and Duncanrig Secondary School, attended a special event at Morrison Construction’s Jackton Primary School scheme showcasing careers in construction in a live site environment.
The visit, which also coincides with Scottish Apprenticeship Week, took in the Jackton Primary project, a new school for South Lanarkshire Council procured through Hub South West, which is being built as part of the built as part of the East Kilbride Community Growth Area.
Michael Ross, Chief Executive of Hub South West, commented: “Hub South West Scotland has been working in partnership with the main building contractors in Scotland for more than 10 years and have a responsibility and drive to make sure that we provide opportunities for women to have a career in construction.
“We have an active partnership with the Woman in Property group and support a wide range of initiatives. We are delighted to be supporting International Women’s Day with Morrison Construction and I am hopeful that this site tour of the new Jackton primary school with young females from local schools will encourage them to pursue a career in construction in the future.”
Scott Purdon, Programme Executive for DYW, commented: “DYW Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire is delighted to be working with the team at Morrison Construction to highlight the wealth of career opportunities for women in the construction sector.
“The fact International Women’s Day is celebrated every year in our schools, has allowed us to promote numerous opportunities for young women to visit the nearby primary school building site and see and hear first-hand from young female apprentices the positive experiences they have to share with the girls in a real-life working environment.”
Nicole Cunningham, Design and Technology Teacher at Carluke High School, said: “"With only 14% of people working in construction being female and only 2.5% of the workforce working in construction trades, I believe International Women's Day plays a massive part in shaping the future for our young people and STEM Careers.
“The work Morrison Construction are doing to promote the diverse careers available is fantastic. We were very excited to attend the day and further develop our knowledge of the technology used in construction and make the young women of Carluke High School aware of the opportunities available to them."
Dennie Gillespie, Communities and Social Impact Manager for Morrison Construction, added: “It was fantastic to be able to create this special event on International Women’s Day and demonstrate to these young women the opportunities open to them in construction.
“The gender balance within the industry is changing gradually and there is a wealth of opportunities available in a diverse number of roles. We were delighted to be able to welcome the students to Jackton and hopefully we have managed to inspire some of them for the future.”