Lovell, the national housing developer, has staged an information and experience day at a Bradford school to try to encourage more women to explore careers in construction.

The event was held at Tong High School and saw 25 girls from Year 9 take part, learning about varied skills needed in the industry, according to the Bradford Telegraph and Argus. The event was jointly organised by the school and the Construction Industry Training Board, as part of the board’s Women in Construction initiative.

Lovell representative, Liz Gibson, said that construction is a valid and potentially lucrative career option for young women.

“It was nice to see so many girls taking part in the event and showing a real interest in the construction field which currently faces a severe skills shortage,” she told the newspaper. “We really wanted to get the message across to the students that construction isn’t just about the traditional trades like bricklaying and plastering. It offers fantastic career opportunities in a wide range of exciting and challenging areas.”

The headmaster of the school, Steve Curran, added that they were very thankful to the staff from Lovell for assisting with such a valuable day. He said: “The event allowed our students to get a real taste of the construction sector.”