Ladies in Electrics

Ladies In Electrics

There is a growing demand now for women in trades, both from householders sourcing tradespeople and women looking at the sector as a career. Women currently make up just 10% of the UK construction workforce, and when you consider skilled tradespeople specifically, it is estimated that only 1% are women. At the same time, a new study by Direct Line for Business has revealed that nearly one third of British people would prefer to hire female plumbers, electricians and builders because a woman's attention to detail is considered the most valued skill needed in a tradesman.

The opportunities are ready and waiting for women, and those who take full advantage will almost certainly reap the benefits.

For women who aspire to be their own boss, a career in trade and construction may provide the perfect opportunity, as a staggering 35 per cent of people working in the industry are self-employed. This offers much more scope for flexible working hours with good rates of pay, and a much sought after work - life balance. Interestingly too, you could have a ready-made market for your business, because female and elderly homeowners often prefer the idea of hiring tradeswomen. Also, with a worldwide shortage of skilled construction and tradespeople, once you are qualified, there is always the opportunity to work overseas.

Rok is looking to recruit more women electricians Mail on Sunday 9th August 2009

At Main Electrical Training, we are delighted to see an increase in the number of ladies training with us to become qualified electricians. We felt that it merited to set up this section on the website and that hopefully, the profiles of some of our lady students will inspire other women to take up the trade.

Training in Progress - One of our students has just started her training and has kindly agreed to let us know how she is getting on as she works through the course. You can read about Chris’s “Training in Progress” below.

Here are just a few examples of the comments we have received from our lady students.

“Clinton proved to be an excellent tutor. His teaching style is very engaging and he is brilliant at explaining complex theory in a simple, straightforward way.” - Eleanor Bell , Falmouth

“When I spoke to the staff at Main, I found them helpful and informative. I was impressed with the fact that they worked closely with industry bodies and have a very high success rate.” – Chris Armstrong, Hertfordshire

“I was really happy with Barry's support and advice after I completed my course.” - Margot Templeton, Bedfordshire.

"The Tutor was very helpful and took control of the students. This course was well structured and we always knew what we would be doing on a daily basis"- Jennifer, Bedfordshire.

Please read some articles below which will be regularly updated.

Eleanor Bell

Eleanour Bell

Eleanor was the Showroom Sales Manager for an exclusive design showroom in Chelsea. She lived in a lovely flat nearby. On the outside she seemed to have it all, yet she felt something was missing. A conversation with a friend whilst on holiday in 2003, set in motion a whole series of events that were to completely change Eleanor's life.
"If you had told me five years ago that I was going to move to Cornwall, do an Art Degree, qualify as an Electrician and start my own business I wouldn’t have believed you!” Please click here for her story.

7 March 2009

Eleanor Bell

Margo Templeton

A qualified accountant, Margo undertook a major career change by training as a tiler and more recently, as an electrician. Please click here for her story.

Christine Armstrong

Chris Armstrong

Chris started her training in February 2009 whilst continuing to work full time on contracts within the public sector. She kindly agreed to give us progress reports as she worked through the course and each of the practical sessions, details of which can be viewed below. Chris completed her week 6 and took her C&G 2391 in February 2010. She is currently awaiting her results.

Chris worked in banking since leaving school at the age of sixteen, and for the past ten years, worked as a self-employed banking consultant mainly involved with project management type activity in a variety of well-known banks. Chris's initial comments as to why she decided to train as an electrician are noted below, followed by her course week progress updates.

What made you decide to do an electrical training course?

I’ve always been really practical and will try and do most DIY jobs around the house myself. A few years ago I thought about training to be a plumber and after doing a 2 weekend course covering basic plumbing, I changed my mind about that. I recently had to change a light fitting for a friend and then I had a problem with my electrics at home that I had to solve. It reminded me how much I enjoy problem solving and generally fixing things and making them work. As result, I decided to have a look around and see what was possible. I have always thought that there was a good market for ladies in both plumbing and electrical work. Often old people or single women would prefer to deal with a woman so I saw it as a good opportunity to train myself and build a business around it helping other like-minded women do the same thing.

Why did you choose Main Electrical Training?

In deciding who to train with, I searched on the internet and found about 5 different companies. I obtained the information from each of them and then set about calling them all to chat through their courses. It was very interesting talking to the different training companies. Whilst most offered similar qualifications there was a difference in price, location, attitude, time to train etc. When I spoke to the staff at Main, I found them helpful and informative. They were reliable and called back and responded to emails when they said they would. They are quite local for me and almost immediately asked me to pop down to the training centre for a look around. I arranged it and went there within a couple of days of our initial chat. They continued to be extremely helpful and friendly and it felt like being part of a family with a good support network. I was impressed with the fact that they worked closely with industry bodies and have a very high success rate. Also, they have trained a few women and I got chance to have a chat to one of them when I visited their training centre.

Are you in full-time employment?

I’m currently in full-time employment commuting in and out of London. My working days are quite long and I have many other interests including foreign currency trading and golfing. I’m busy juggling the study of the theory with working and other commitments. I tend to leave home by 6am and do some of the theory and reading on the train journey to and from work. It’s early stages but so far, I’m really enjoying it and I don’t think I’ve got to the difficult bit yet.

Career and Plans for the Future

I’d like to complete the training towards the end of the year and to do some work on my own house. And then I would like to set up a business as an electrician and to be able to train other like- minded women to do the same thing. Ultimately I would like to have a stable, local business that is well respected and offers good quality and value for money services that people trust.

Please click here for her story for Week 1 of her course

Please click here for her story for Week 2 of her course

Please click here for her story for Week 3 of her course
Please click here for her story for Week 4 of her course

Please click here for her story for Week 5 of her course
Please click here for her story for Week 6 of her course