Sovini Property Services strive for more female electricians

Sovini Property Services are inspiring more women to train as electricians this year as we prepare for our new intake of apprentices.

In 2016, just 270 of 15,510 of construction apprentices, or 1.7% were female, whilst only 6.8% of engineering apprenticeships were made up of women.

NICEIC is the UK’s leading voluntary regulatory body for the electrical contracting industry. It currently maintains a roll of over 26,000 registered contractors. Back in 2011 NICEIC set up its “Jobs for the Girls” campaign to encourage more women into the industry and address the imbalance, however the figures for the amount of women in the trade are still low.

Many believe this could be down to the old fashioned misconceptions of apprenticeships for girls and boys. Prudential published a report which found that 68% of 16-18 year olds think that the majority of apprenticeships are catered towards males as they are in male-dominated sectors such as construction, manufacturing and IT. Sovini Property Services are on a mission to change these perceptions.

Emma Oakes started as an Apprentice Electrician at Sovini Property Services and is encouraging females to consider apprenticeships with Sovini, she has visited nearby schools to talk to girls about future prospects in the electrical industry. She stated:

“Becoming an electrical apprentice with Sovini Property Services offered me the chance to train in a rewarding career for a company with an excellent reputation, not only for its service but towards its employees. They have given me hands on, practical experience which catered to my preferred method of learning. I was apprehensive at first about going into a male-dominated industry, but the professionalism of my colleagues and people in the industry soon put my mind at ease, no longer is this industry a man’s domain. Women are proving to be equally competent in this sector, I would definitely encourage more women to consider training in this area.”

Emma’s college tutor, John Mason has described how she is dedicated to learning, her male counterparts in her class feel exactly the same way, he stated:

“Emma started with us in 2014 studying level 1 electrical installation. It was quickly evident that she was a dedicated and resourceful student, holding down a full time job, studying at college and she spent her free time with us engaging in additional practical and theoretical work. She installed twelve new test rigs in the workshops virtually single handily, and we had no hesitation in putting her forward for our 2015 student of the year award which she won. At level two she continued to show exactly the same enthusiasm and dedication to the course and again we had no reservations recommending her for an apprenticeship.”

Sovini Property Services will be recruiting for apprentices in April of this year, we have also recently passed our NICEIC re-assessment for 2018, where contractors undergo a rigorous assessment process, covering a representative sample of their work, their premises, documentation, equipment, and the competence of their key supervisory staff.

Steven Parker, Director of Sovini Property Services said:

“As an organisation we are dedicated to creating opportunities for our local community and we are always striving for an equal and diverse workforce. It’s fantastic that we’re in a position to have more of an intake of apprentices this year.”

Vacancies for apprentices will be open from March – April of this year so keep an eye out!