Leeds graduate helping inspire girls into construction
05 August 2022
A Persimmon Homes graduate has been helping tackle the gender gap in construction through a series of mentoring sessions with girls at Leeds East Academy.
As part of an initiative run by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), girls from eight schools across the region are being supported to realise their talents and make informed decisions about their futures.
Launched last year, the Effective Transitions Fund is an 18 month programme that aims to equip girls with the skills and confidence to achieve their full potential and help transition into high quality, post-16 career pathways.
Lydia Sharp, a Graduate Planner at Persimmon Homes West Yorkshire put herself forward to join three sessions with girls at Leeds East Academy to answer questions and discuss the range of careers that construction has to offer.
This comes following the launch earlier this year of Persimmon’s Target 50 initiative to recruit another 50 female apprentices into construction-facing roles in 2022.
Lydia Sharp of Persimmon Homes said: “I hope that by sharing my own training and career journey that I have helped the girls think about their future and what they need to do to fulfil their own aspirations. I also wanted to raise awareness that construction is an industry full of a wide range of possibilities for the girls to pursue and embark upon an exciting career like myself and my female colleagues have done.”
Leeds East Academy said: “The Effective Transitions project is a valuable opportunity for our students to gain transferable skills including communication and public speaking. We would like to take the opportunity to Thank Lydia from Persimmon homes for engaging with our students as this has opened their eyes on the jobs that are available in the industry’
Sarah Mumford, Programmes Director at Leeds based training provider IVE, one of WYCA’s partners running the programme said: “We need to help young females make informed decisions about their future careers equipping them with the creative thinking skills and confidence to achieve their full potential. Our training helps apply creativity to real-world challenges so young people use their new skills to take an active part in creating their own futures.”
