Jennifer Winyard
National Chair of Women in Property
Break stereotypes in the property space. Recognise the rewarding careers, empower young minds and shape a diverse industry for the future of property.
Discussing the future of property requires addressing the key drivers, particularly the persistent skills shortages across various disciplines, including traditional construction trades. A common theme is a lack of interest in, or understanding of, what the industry offers. Changing mindsets and unlocking this potential is critical to achieving our housing aspirations, building our commercial centres and moving forward with infrastructure programmes.
Misguided property careers guidance
Women in Property (WiP) has heard anecdotal evidence from female undergraduates — the lucky ones who got through GCSEs and A levels — that the message at school was that jobs in property meant bricklaying for the boys and estate agency for the girls. While they are fundamentally important, the guidance falls woefully short of the opportunity. Young people are missing out on the wealth of careers in which they could thrive and help the industry benefit enormously.
Organisations engaging young people
Some great organisations are tackling this head-on. Manchester-based not-for-profit Regeneration Brainery works across the country, running hands-on workshops for 14 to 21-year-olds, to give them an insight into the industry and careers they didn’t know existed.
Young people are missing out on the wealth of careers in which they could thrive and help the industry benefit enormously.
Charity MOBIE connects industry, education and government with young people to get them thinking about and working in the housing sector. Barratt Homes is working with schools and colleges to attract more young people to construction and other STEM industries, with an ambitious target to reach 1 million students over the next three years.
Youth outreach initiatives
Our own WiP members, all volunteers and all industry professionals, spend valuable time engaging with schools through our outreach programme, talking to children from 11 years old about what it means to be an engineer, a surveyor, an architect, a project manager and more. These initiatives have included competitions, careers fairs and, notably, an eight-week development series. It shows how maths can be fun and is integral to the building they are sitting in and designing.
We run our own National Student Awards programme to bring together the brightest female, built environment students with potential employers to encourage diversity across the industry spectrum. All of these projects are important, all demand commitment, longevity and investment and all are critical to the future of property.