[ Focus: Wired for Success ]
Training will be rigorous but as flexible as possible
Pioneers: the initial 12 candidates, alongside ECA immediate past president Diane Johnson
course, with registration to its own ECA Certification Part P scheme to comply with the Building Regulations for those who work in the domestic environment. The candidates will also have access to the ECA Technical, Commercial Contracts and Legal, Health and Safety and Employee Relations helplines. To launch the course, the ECA and L&Q have recruited 12
female L&Q residents to join the two-year training programme. The women, who range in age from 18 to 51, include single mothers needing to juggle home and work priorities; mature career-changers who feel that their life experience is no longer valued; those who have been out of work for some time; and others simply looking for an exciting opportunity to strike out in a new direction.
Finding a niche Bringing more qualified women into the electrical industry is one clear way to help bridge the skills gap, by tapping into a previously under-utilised part of the UK workforce. Like many other occupations, the age profile of professionals in the electrical industry is too heavily weighted towards older workers, while more than a million women were out of work in 2010 – the highest unemployment rate since 1988. And
Jahmena Wilson-Duhaney
Currently unemployed, Jahmena, 25, is married and lives in Croydon. When growing up she wanted to become a lawyer.
However, while taking her AS-levels, Jahmena
undertook to become the guardian of her youngest sister, as her parents were unable to care for her. This meant Jahmena’s education took a back seat. Some years later, she decided to study for a nursing diploma at Middlesex
University, but by the second year the time commitments were simply too challenging for her to be able to look after her family and study at the same time. But now that her daughter is starting primary school, Jahmena is more able to get back into work.
Jahmena is determined to be in control of her
future. She is very excited about the ECA Wired for Success Initiative, seeing it as an opportunity to train for a career where, one day, she can be her own boss. Being able to structure her work around her family is extremely important to her, and ultimately she would like to start up a female-oriented electrician’s firm to provide
services for those who would prefer a woman to carry out their electrical work. Most importantly for her, she wants to be able to get off benefits and build a bright future for her and her family. ‘This opportunity is amazing,’ says Jahmena. ‘I
really think there is a massive gap in the electrical market that someone like me could fill. I’m looking forward to learning a new skill and being able to fix things as, at the moment, I’ve no idea! ‘I hate being on benefits, so something like
this would make a massive difference. I just want to be in control of my life; I don’t want to sit at home waiting for handouts. This is Initiative is really empowering.’
November 2011 ECA Today 39
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