A plumbing service staffed by women has started trading in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.
Pink Plumbers is the brainchild of Gemma Lawrence-Davis who trained as a plumber after a career in the fitness industry. Her change of direction came after she helped a family member work on her bathroom and she is now a fully-qualified tradesperson.
Market research carried out by the firm showed that people would like the choice of a man or a woman to carry out work in their homes and no longer automatically expected a plumber to be male. The survey of 1,000 households said that 86 per cent of women would like the choice of a female plumber, with just 14 per cent saying they would specifically prefer a man for plumbing tasks.
The Aylesbury-based firm will cover homes within a 35-mile radius. It was launched as the Government prepares to start sending out information packs to parents, to encourage more girls to consider training in traditionally male-dominated sectors, such as the trades and engineering. The idea is to persuade parents to discuss the different options with their daughters so they do not feel shoehorned into ‘female’ careers.
Increasing numbers of women are now training for jobs such as plumbers, electricians, builders and decorators. The Government is keen to encourage the trend as part of efforts to improve the economy and boost career options for women.
The Government calculates that more than one million new entrepreneurs would be created in Britain if women started their own businesses at the same rate as men - training as a tradesperson could help many women do just that.
Culture Secretary Maria Miller stressed the importance of opening up career options to girls when they were still at school and said parental encouragement is a vital part of the process.