Three additional young women – Hollie Heffer, Gina Mann and Sarah Dengate – have joined JTL’s pioneering Ambassador programme, bringing the total to 23.
The scheme sees females who are currently on an apprenticeship or already working in the building services engineering sector (primarily electricians and plumbers) come together to help raise awareness of the range of opportunities that exist for young women in the industry. Spread across England and Wales the JTL Ambassadors talk to other young women about the pleasures and pitfalls of their chosen careers.
With a varied range of skills and interests, the Ambassadors are inspiring role models. Many are still completing apprenticeships, whilst others have qualified and gone on to management roles, set up their own businesses or taken on supervisory roles on large building sites.
“Women are currently enormously under-represented in the sector – for example, currently less than one per cent of new electrical apprentices in the UK are women. But our experience demonstrates very clearly that young females can – and do – achieve great things in this industry,” said JTL’s ambassador scheme manager, Yasmin Damree-Ralph.
“Our aim is, quite simply, to educate young women about the career opportunities that exist for them in building services. The best way for girls currently at school or college to hear our message is via other young women, so back in 2013 we brought together a fantastic group of intelligent and enthusiastic advocates to help us spread the word.
“They do a truly fantastic job – speaking in schools, relating their experiences, answering questions, offering advice and dispelling the odd myth or two! What better way for our message to be relayed?
“We’re delighted that Hollie, Gina and Sarah have decided to join the scheme, helping us empower other women to access a career in our sector. We look forward to working alongside them in the years to come, supporting them in their ambassadorial roles and in their own careers.”
All from Kent, Heffer and Mann are both plumbing and heating apprentices, whilst Dengate is an electrical apprentice.
The positive response to JTL’s first 10 female Ambassadors prompted charitable training provider, JTL – one of the top work-based learning providers in England and Wales – to recruit an additional 12 girls in 2014 so that the Ambassadors were spread across all regions. This latest expansion of the scheme comes following further feedback about the level of inspiration they bring within their local schools and communities.
The JTL Ambassadors can be contacted via JTL’s website or on Facebook.
For more information on the opportunities for young women in the electrical and heating and plumbing sectors, visit the JTL website at www.jtltraining.com.
