A new programme designed to encourage and support female high school pupils from across Glasgow to pursue a career in construction has been announced by leading contractor GRAHAM.

Promoted to schools with support from Developing the Young Workforce and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, the ConstructHER programme will enable eight S5 and S6 high school pupils to learn more about the world of construction. Applications are now open, with the successful hopefuls awarded a place on the course in October 2024.

The six-month training programme will offer insight into the breadth of roles available, including town planners, quantity surveyors and site managers.

Delivered at a variety of locations, including on live construction sites in the city, universities and colleges, GRAHAM has designed the ConstructHER programme to address the traditional gender imbalance in the sector.

Those who successfully complete the ConstructHER programme will be fast-tracked to apply for a full-time apprenticeship with GRAHAM, including in engineering, design management, planning, quantity surveying and administration and document control.

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Debbie Rutherford, Head of Social Impact and Support Services at GRAHAM, said: "We're proud to launch our ConstructHER programme which is designed to show the breadth of job opportunities available in the construction sector. Working collaboratively with local schools across Glasgow will help to inspire our future generations to pursue a career in construction, which many may have not considered until now.

"We are looking forward to taking the ConstructHER co-hort out to our live sites, including a purpose-built student accommodation scheme at 225 Bath Street, where they will get the opportunity to see first-hand how new developments come out of the ground and change the skyline of Glasgow city centre."

Alison McRae, senior director, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said: "ConstructHER is a fantastic initiative that will encourage female pupils to learn more about the broad range of roles available in the construction industry. Aligning with Developing the Young Workforce's ethos of inspiring young people to gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed as they move from education into the world of work, we are proud to support GRAHAM in the roll out of the programme across schools in Glasgow."

Two of GRAHAM's young female staff have just graduated from its apprenticeship scheme, including Kirsty MacLeod (assistant QS, BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying, Glasgow Caledonian University) and Alexis Smith (planner, BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering, University West of Scotland).

GRAHAM will also welcome 15 new apprentices this year across its Building North division, including quantity surveyors, design managers, site administrators, planners and site engineers.