WOMEN working at Bellway Wales’ divisional office in Cardiff went on a guided tour of one of the housebuilder’s developments as part of the company’s efforts to promote diversity in the construction industry.
The group of 15 office-based employees donned hard hats and hi-vis jackets for the visit to Bellway’s Coed Derw site in Llantwit Fardre, which took place to mark Women in Construction Week last month (March).
The visiting party, which included members of staff from various departments, including accounts, sales administration and customer care, were greeted at the site by Bellway Wales Construction Director Chris Bowen, Construction Manager Peter Pettit, Senior Site Manager Dave Crisp and Assistant Site Manager Farran Owen.
The senior construction figures talked the group through the workings of the development, the build stages, the contractors they manage and construction issues they deal with, to give their colleagues a better understanding of the work of the site team.
They then headed out onto the site to see homes under construction and to look inside a completed four-bedroom Cutler style house before viewing the fully decorated and furnished four-bedroom Bowyer showhome.
Marie Todd, Purchase Ledger Supervisor, said, “Being office based it was very informative to go out on site and be able to see the plots at various build stages. I have been to a number of showhomes, but to take time out to learn about the processes on site has made me appreciate what they have to do on a day-to-day basis. It was a really good morning and hopefully this will be something that we will be able to do again as I think it boosts understanding and working relationships.”
Gill Davies, Customer Care Coordinator,said, “It was good to go to the site, see the area, and different phases of build. Everyone on site was really helpful, and willing to explain anything. It was so helpful from a customer care point of view.”
Women in Construction Week is a national campaign to encourage more women to make a career in the building industry. Bellway has set itself a target to improve the gender diversity of its directly employed workforce to a 60/40 male/female split by July 2025. Last year this split was 69/31.
In January 2023, in collaboration with the Home Builders Federation, the not-for-profit organisation Women into Construction and eight other housebuilders, Bellway launched the Women into Home Building Programme to attract more female recruits into trainee assistant site manager roles.
Chris Bowen said, “It was a very successful visit and we hope that everyone who came on the tour will spread the message about career opportunities for women in the housebuilding industry to their colleagues, friends and professional contacts.
“We’re always keen to raise awareness about potential careers in construction, whether that’s through hosting site visits for schoolchildren or giving talks in schools and colleges. This visit was another opportunity to do that, while at the same time giving our own office-based female members of staff a clearer insight into the workings of a live site.”
For more information about career opportunities with Bellway, visit https://www.bellwaycareers.co.uk/
