Carmarthenshire County Council and Coleg Sir Gar have joined forces to encourage young women to enter the construction industry.
The Pink Ladies Pilot Scheme has been launched as part of the council and college’s new partnership with the Construction Youth Trust.
The CYT is a registered charity which acts to connect local communities with local construction employers. The aim of the organisation is to attract young people aged 16 to 30 into the construction industry.
This partnership will have a vital role in Carmarthenshire in trying to engage the economic inactive in local communities.
The partnership will link with Communities First areas, the Western Valleys programme, the job centres in Carmarthenshire, Careers Wales, Skill Build, Coleg Sir Gar, the future jobs fund project, the deprived area fund, the work ways project, and the council’s contractor partners.
Pink Ladies aims to attract female students to the construction courses run at the college.
Open days were run by the Construction Youth Trust during the students Fresher’s Fair week at Coleg Sir Gar giving construction taster sessions. The open days were held in three of the college campuses – Pibwrlwyd, Ammanford and Graig.
Weekly two-hour taster sessions will be held by the Construction Youth Trust for a four to five week period giving the female students a chance to try out various construction techniques and skills. It is anticipated that at least 24 students will volunteer for the scheme.
The training sessions given in the two-hour taster sessions will be modules from the Basic Craft Operative (BCO) Course thus enabling female students to enrol on this course following the taster sessions if they wish.
The results of the Pink Ladies pilot scheme will be evaluated and used to determine how the council works with the CYT in the future.
Carmarthenshire County Council business manager Cllr Pam Palmer said: “This is a fantastic project to encourage young women to look at opportunities in the construction industry. I am pleased that we and our partners have got this scheme off the ground to give them experience of the skills used in the industry and I hope they will go on to take up apprenticeships.
“We hope that the pink tool sets that they will be given at the end of the six week taster will encourage more to actually try their hand.”
Bridget Moseley, faculty manager at Coleg Sir Gar said: “We are fully supporting the initiative to help encourage women learn more about the various construction trades on offer to them.
“We already have a number of female apprentices and students studying with us and as training opportunities and employment prospects exist within the industry, then we see this scheme as not only helping people into work, but offering a unique support structure for those who want to take part.”
Photograph by Jeff Connell
