1 February 2010
Sector Skills Councils
showcase success of Women and Work
programme
- Sector Skills Councils celebrate
success of 16,000 women who have trained via the initiative -
Leading companies today heard that 16,000
female employees had benefitted from the Women and Work initiative
run by Sector Skills Councils to support women in traditionally
male-dominated industries.
At a House of Lords event organised by science
engineering and manufacturing sector skills council Semta,
employers and their female employees heard that removing barriers
to women working in occupations traditionally occupied by men, and
increasing women’s participation in the labour market, could be
worth between £15 billion and £23 billion or 1.3 to 2.0 per cent of
GDP. The figures come from the UK Commission for Employment and
Skills which manages The Women & Work Sector Pathways
initiative, launched in March 2006
Amongst the employers to have benefited from
the scheme, across a wide range of different industry sectors, are:
Aston Martin; The Adelphi Hotel (Liverpool); George @ Asda;
Hampshire Fire & Rescue service; Jaguar; Metro Clean; RESET;
Transdev Blazefield; United Utilities.
Baroness Scotland and Baroness Wall spoke at
the event. Baroness Wall said: “In the current economy,
making the most of an employee’s capabilities is more important
than ever before, regardless of their gender. The Women and Work
initiative is therefore vital in helping companies bring out the
talents of women through structured programmes of workshops and
one-to-one coaching and has been hugely successful in motivating
and driving women to achieve their potential, whilst also
delivering tangible business benefits.”
Sector Skills Councils, were asked to work
with employers on providing and promoting Apprenticeships for women
in industries in which there are skills shortages.
Lynn Tomkins, Employer Engagement Director,
Semta, said: “Semta works with a wide range of employers, of all
sizes; in what have been traditionally male-dominated industries,
and we were therefore eager to be one of the first SSC’s to develop
a Women and Work programme for female employees. Creating female
role models has been a very important part of the process, and
plays a vital role in encouraging other women to consider a career
in the sectors we represent.
“According to the UK Resource Centre for Women
in Science, Engineering and Technology (UKRC) only 18.7 per cent of
the current SET (science, engineering and technology) workforce are
made up of women, while thirty-three per cent of engineers believe
women don’t perform as well as men in all fields and at all
seniorities. It is important we correct these misconceptions,
particularly when Semta research has identified that a lack of
skilled workers in the engineering sector is costing the national
economy £700 million every year in lost productivity.”
The event was attended by sector skills
councils running the initiative which include: Asset Skills;
Construction Skills; Energy & Utility Skills; Financial
Services, GoSkills; Institute of the Motor Industry; Lantra; People
1st; Semta; Skillfast UK; and Skills for
Justice.
Employers interested in finding out more about
the Women and Work and other development programmes should contact
Semta Customer Services on 0845 643 9001 or email customerservices@semta.org.uk