Newmason Properties: Newmason makes Jobs for the Girls.

Tuesday 4th January 2005

Newmason makes Jobs for the Girls

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Hard hats, steel toe-capped boots and high visibility jackets may not be every young woman’s dream outfit but for 14 Bradford girls it may be just the job!

The pupils from Salts Grammar School and Beckfoot Grammar School got to visit Newmason Properties £70m development, Victoria Mills, for a professional careers in construction for women event last Friday (10th December).

The event organised by CITB Construction Skills and Let’s TWIST gave the young women the opportunity to see what a career in construction could offer them.

Bradford College’s Let’s TWIST department is working to get more women into science, engineering, construction and technology careers. The under representation of women in these sectors is contributing to a national skills shortage which is damaging the UK’s economy. Let’s TWIST organises such events to inspire girls at a young age to get involved in non-traditional careers.

The day focussed on professional careers within the industry, giving an insight into the roles of quantity surveyors, project managers and architects through educational games and also by receiving talks from role models such as two civil engineers, an architect and an environmental consultant.

Newmason Properties developer Andrew Mason was also there to talk to the girls about possible career options within the industry and his most recent development project.

The girls, aged 15 - 16, were given blank plans of Victoria Mills and an apartment space as part of a workshop challenge. They had to decide how they thought the apartments within the Mill should be set out and similarly how the rooms inside the apartment should be spaced.

The pupils then were taken on a tour of the Mills, set alongside the River Aire at Saltaire, and shown a completed apartment to see what the professionals actually did with those blank plans.

These educational and vocational events are not new to Newmason who only recently began searching for local youngsters to train up in a variety of trades as part of an apprenticeship scheme.

Andrew Mason said, “In today’s affluent market there is a demand for better design in modern home building - both new build and conversions. Ladies are so important in the house purchase decision that professionals within the industry would benefit from more female input. With the growing market and the need for a more feminine touch, women who join the industry can look for to excellent employment prospects

“It would be nice to think that we may have helped these ladies here today think more seriously about a career in construction and possibly helped one or two of them on their way. We look forward to having some of them working on our developments in the future!”

Yasmin Ali, Outreach and Promotions Co-ordinator of Let’s TWIST said, “We’re grateful to companies like Newmason for getting involved with these kinds of events. Their commitment to helping young people get into the industry is rare and so valuable to the younger generation and the construction business.

“With this event we wanted to send out the message that jobs in these types of industry can be fun and rewarding, and by giving school girls the chance to meet women who have been successful in this area and to see such an interesting and exciting development like Victoria Mills, we can start to breakdown barriers and change people’s attitudes at an early age.”

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