in engineering


From left: Linaker FM MD Claire Curran with chairman Bill Harrison; estimator at Cardiff-based CMB Engineer Holly Fielding; last year’s winner of the BESA Apprentice of the Year Award, Melissa Lee; and senior project engineer at NG Bailey, Reanna Taylor


have to be keen to learn everything you can about the industry and be ambitious.”


She thinks times are changing and women are increasingly welcomed in building services, but many young women are still terrified at the thought of “going into this journey alone”.


“They need to know that they will have the support they need. That doesn’t mean being cradled, but most of the men in our sector accept that times are changing and they are willing to teach and help you,” she added. Ms Taylor also said contractors could be more


flexible about working conditions to make themselves more appealing to women: “My counterparts on the design side of the industry seem to have a better work/life balance – we can learn from that,” she said. Holly Fielding, an estimator at Cardiff-based CMB Engineering, believes other women should be encouraged to enter the industry and tells them to go for it and not be afraid of making mistakes. “Accept that there will be new challenges along the way, but look at the bigger picture as it can be incredibly rewarding. Above all, don’t look at gender as being an obstacle,” she said.


Getting a good mix of practical experience as well as academic education is also important, she believes, and she urged young women to consider all of the many possible roles in the industry so they can find one that suits them.


“Be open to learning new skills along the way. If you have a small interest in the industry, push yourself to gain experience to see if it is a career you’d like to pursue.”


As a woman in a leading building services role, Ms Curran said it was impossible for her to avoid the issue of the industry’s woeful record on diversity, but she is not entirely comfortable with the debate.


Confront


“We always talk about ‘tackling’ diversity as if it is something we can take on and confront, but I think it should be more about making the right recruitment decisions,” the Linaker FM MD said. “If you always pick the person best suited to the job, then over time more people will see they can advance in this industry. That means setting some prejudices and preconceptions aside to let talent reach the top. “Regardless of my gender people have been great to me in the industry. If I was really honest I’d


say it’s the women who are sometimes harder on other women,” added Ms Curran. “I refuse to be that woman – I’ll give anyone a hand-up who wants to grow regardless of any label.”


She says that INWED and other profile-raising initiatives are important because they help create more “gender balance” industry-wide and promote “great females who may not look to us because they think our industry does not offer as much as it does”. “There are a mass of diverse, well-paid opportunities in the sector for emotionally and commercially savvy people to take advantage of. All the opportunities are there for a highly-fulfilling, prestigious career; we just need to get the message out there,” said Ms Curran.


She is also full of praise for BESA’s role describing it as “an exciting place to be at the moment”. “BESA has taken great steps in promoting our industry and giving the smaller contractors, which form the large percentage of workforce, a voice. The organisation has shown great leadership throughout COVID-19 crisis and remains the place to go for solid advice. With its daily webinars and regular updates its voice has been a beacon in an industry where other professional bodies have been relatively quiet.”


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July 2020 !"


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