Total People celebrate International Women’s Day
Total People, our apprenticeships provider, is celebrating the achievements of its female apprentices
With National Apprenticeship Week in full swing and International Women’s Day being marked today (Thursday 8 March), Total People, our apprenticeships provider, is celebrating the achievements of its female apprentices.
A report by the Young Women’s Trust states ‘there are 25 men for every woman starting an apprenticeship in engineering’ and ‘74 men for every female apprentice in plumbing’. Typically, these industries are male dominated. Total People is working in partnership with Manchester City Council to offer apprenticeships in non-traditional roles. Through the Manchester Futures programme, female apprentices are able to work on some of the most high profile construction projects in the region, reshaping the city’s skyline and working with a range of leading employers in the sector.
Sam Shaw who recently completed an apprenticeship through the scheme commented:
“I started the Manchester Futures Apprenticeship in August 2015. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do as a job, so having the opportunity to gain experience with six different companies over two years was great for me.
“I started working with Crown House Technologies where I went onto my first site getting to know the basics of Health and Safety and day-to-day site operations. I went on to work with BDP (Design) and Atkins (Surveying) where I had the opportunity to work with curators, tagging and documenting heritage assets on the Town Hall Refurbishment Project. My fourth placement at Laing O’Rourke focussed on construction management and gave me lots of hands-on experience. I then moved onto Pierre Anguliere and focussed on the Town Hall Project tendering process before taking my final placement with Turner and Townsend.
My apprenticeship has given me the platform and confidence I needed to decide what to do in my career. I enjoyed getting to know so many different people and building some great relationships within the construction industry. I loved meeting with the other apprentices and sharing our experiences of the process. We were able to guide each other and received lots of support.
Following her apprenticeship, Sam is now employed by Laing O’Rourke on the School and College Leavers Programme, studying Construction Management part-time at the University of Salford. She has been placed on the Manchester Airport Transformation project.
Linda Dean, Managing Director for Total People commented, “We are delighted with the successes of our female apprentices and the positive steps they are taking towards challenging industry stereotypes.
Our apprenticeships give people real opportunities to develop their skills in a wide range of disciplines. By focussing on non-traditional roles, we are opening up new routes for apprentices to gain employment. Through the cultivation of their technical and behavioural development, we are able to add value and fulfil the demands of the businesses we work with.
Throughout National Apprenticeship Week, Total People are hosting a number of events including an apprenticeship and careers fair at Radbrook Hall, Knutsford, in association with Barclays and culminating on Friday (9 March) with a celebration event planned and led by apprentices from Total People.