The handywomen brushing up on their painting skills . . .
EDUCATION & COURSES
Sue JeFFeRSOn decided to take voluntary redundancy from her local government post, organising activities for elderly people.
The 35- year- old enrolled on painting, decorating, tiling and plastering courses with uK Trades Training, in South Shields last august. She then set up poppySue’s Handy Home Improvement, which provides services in the darlington area.
Her business is now in great demand and she hasn’t looked back. ‘ My dad is a self- employed joiner, and after I was made redundant, I helped him with a few jobs and really enjoyed it,’ says Sue. ‘I’ve always been practical and like having projects, so I thought why not set up my own business?
‘I got in touch with uK Trades Training because I felt I needed a bit more skill. I could already do painting and decorating, but the course helped me learn the professional tricks of the trade.’
Sue is hired mainly by women who, she believes, trust another woman to do a better job because they take more care.
‘They also feel more comfortable leaving me to work in their homes if they need to pop out,’ she says.
In 2004, uK Trades Training, based in South Shields, had just one woman registered for a course. It now receives up to 30 women a year, training for trades including tiling, plastering, bathroom installation and kitchen fitting.
‘Our ladies don’t tend to go and work on building sites,’ says director Tracy yorke. ‘They run their own businesses going into domestic settings.
‘We’ve definitely seen an increase in women coming in who’ve been made redundant and we’ve never found that anything’s a barrier for them in the training side of things.
‘I have women coming in who are quite slight, but they have no problems in terms of the demands of the courses.’
She adds: ‘Running a business is also about doing a good job and winning the work. If you’re going into a domestic market, you don’t just get one quote.
‘you have to be knowledgeable and be able to interact and make sure you’re the right person for the job. Customer service is a massive thing, which women are often very good at.’
JTL, the leading training provider to the building services sectors, has seen a five- fold increase in demand from women apprentices.
Just six women signed up for plumbing or electrical apprenticeships in 2001 compared with 30 in 2010. and around 600 women are currently registered with the Gas Safe Register, which means they can legally carry out gas- fitting work. In april 2009, the figure was around 500.