Barratt David Wilson North Thames encourages women to explore careers in the construction industry

In Brigid Francis-Devine and Niamh Foley's study of Women and the Economy, it was revealed that women account for just 10-15% of the workforce in the UK.[1] Given the industry's current growth and shortage in skills, it is now more imperative than ever to make concerted efforts to attract more women into the sector.

Stacey Davis (39) has been with the local housebuilder for more than two decades, building on her first role as a receptionist to now managing a team of 13 as Head of her own Customer Care department.

Stacey comments: “After finishing my GCSE exams, I was keen to start work straight away and took on the role as receptionist at Kings Oak - now part of Barratt David Wilson Homes.” Stacey adds, “What I have found with Barratt is that it is such a large business but with that comes big opportunities for personal growth and I really used that to my advantage.”

Since joining Barratt David Wilson Homes, Stacey has pivoted from her first receptionist role to crafting her sales skills before discovering a position as a customer care co-ordinator. “I leapt at the chance and have never looked back. When I first started in the role, there wasn’t such a thing as a dedicated customer care department, so we were all really starting from scratch – I found that was where my love was, I really loved customer care.”

Stacey works across a variety of different projects with no two days the same: “I have managed to work on a lot of interesting projects, purely out of my passion for the role. I returned from being away on maternity leave last year, and I was very keen to kick start a call with all the women in our North Thames division in the name of International Women’s Day. We had a great turnout, with women from Sales & Marketing and Site keen to join in the conversation.”

Stacey continues: “We discussed what do we need as women to make the division better – this sparked a wider conversation on female empowerment that I am extremely proud of. These meetings are now quarterly, rather than annually and following the initial meeting, I was offered a role as co-chair of our Family Connect network which helps to support parents and carers – we even have a webinar coming up to discuss this soon which is very exciting!”

For this year’s International Women’s Day, Stacey and the women within her division are in the process of setting up a buddy program for those who want to get more involved. “It’s very early stages but I’m very excited to see this progress,” Stacey adds. “We wanted to create a safe space for women at work. Since we have started having these calls all-together, the facilities on site have improved. In the last year, we’ve managed to bring in hand dryers in the women’s toilets and free sanitary products. They’re small things but it makes all the difference.”

“We have amazing, very supportive men in the business, which helps. My advice to younger women would be ‘just go for it’. You don’t need to know everything going into it, I’m still picking up construction knowledge and the opportunities are never ending. I’ve gained so many qualifications whilst working for Barratt. If you are hardworking and passionate, you can fly!”

Marc Woolfe, Sales and Marketing Director at Barratt David Wilson North Thames said: “Stacey is a true asset to the team, and her career progression over the past 20-plus years speaks for itself. With over a quarter of a million workers needed in the construction industry by 2028[2], it has never been so important for us to encourage the next generation to explore the varied opportunities available to them. A diverse workplace is an asset to any industry. Having a more gender-balanced work environment is a huge benefit to roles that involve any kind of problem-solving.

“Barratt David Wilson North Thames is keen to support young and diverse people into the industry by providing valuable industry experience. We’re looking forward to welcoming local students onto our developments this year to help them hone their passion for the sector.”

Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes is currently building a range of new homes across Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Hertfordshire. Available developments include: Kingsbrook in Aylesbury, Clipstone Park in Leighton Buzzard and Linmere in Houghton Regis.

[1] https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06838/SN06838.pdf [2] CITB, Over 2500,000 extra construction workers required by 2028 to meet demand