Now in its 25^th year, Women in Construction Week highlights women’s valuable contribution to the building industry and showcases how those considering joining the sector can benefit from its increasingly equal opportunities culture.

The theme of this year’s campaign, ‘Many Paths, One Mission’, celebrates the different journeys women have taken toward the same goal: strengthening and amplifying the success of women in the construction industry.

Tiarna Davidson, Doka Area Sales Manager for the North West and Yorkshire region talks about her career in construction and why women have everything to gain from taking a similar path.

Tiarna, tell us about your career in construction

I started my career in the construction industry when I was just 19. I was initially studying business and PR at University but quickly discovered I was more suited to the working world than student life. Fast forward 10 years and I can confidently say it was the best decision I made. I am working for an amazing company and have grown a network of clients I feel extremely lucky to work alongside.

What inspired you to join the industry?  

My dad has worked in the formwork industry for the last 40 years, so I’ve always been exposed to the industry and what it involves. I would be lying to say it was the career path I envisioned for myself as a young girl, but I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else now.  It has become all I know and I really enjoy what I do.

What does your role involve?  

My role, in short, is to develop opportunities with existing and new clients, to build and nurture strong working customer relationships based on trust and experience, that provide Doka with repeat business. To manage my area, I control a pipeline of current and future works across all sectors to help me achieve, and hopefully exceed my objectives.

Day to day requirements involve tendering for work, presenting solutions and costings to clients and ensuring existing projects obtain the best possible service, to help them meet their own deadlines and project requirements.

Once a project is secured, the level of service and support can vary widely, depending  on the size of the project. For typical projects, my responsibilities involve all aspects, from the initial meetings which generate our design proposals and commercial offers, servicing the project whilst equipment is on site to ensure that everything runs smoothly, right through to managing the successful closure of the account for each project.

For two of the larger contracts from last year, I took on the added role of Project Manager, which effectively gave me responsibility to coordinate all activities from Commercial, Engineering, Operations and Logistic departments, ensuring that all key delivery dates were met for the client in line with the expectations of a tight and challenging program.

Doka has an excellent support network that provides the high levels of specialist knowledge and experience needed to confidently support our customers with all application types, regardless of complexity and size. To have that level of expertise is a massive advantage for the sales team.

Highlight a couple of projects you’re particularly pleased to have secured

Last year was particularly successful for me bringing in projects that far exceeded my expectations, setting a personal record for myself. I managed to secure the largest protection screen project that Doka’s had in the UK at the Whitehall Riverside project in Leeds, which was a huge success. With the support of a good team around me we also managed to secure a significant Self Climbing Platform investment from a major specialist concrete frame contractor for a high-rise project in Manchester, which was a massive achievement and a huge win for the business. The ongoing challenge for me again this year is to build on the momentum to achieve success. Due to the fast-paced nature of the construction industry, you never get the opportunity to rest on your laurels or become complacent. I’m well aware that you are only as successful as your last project, it’s therefore important to set your own standards, goals and expectations.

Describe your experience as a woman in the building sector

Entering a male dominated industry meant I faced several challenges at the start of my career. Within a year of going into the Formwork business I was promoted from my initial internal Sales Support role to an external Sales role, which was quite a step change as a 20-year-old woman and was initially a struggle at times to be taken seriously when discussing the customer’s Formwork requirements with typically male project teams who were far more experienced than myself.  However, I chose to use these challenges as motivation, to not only prove them wrong but to demonstrate that a job can be done properly, regardless of gender.  It shouldn’t even be a consideration.

I focused on developing my confidence, my technical knowledge in Formwork and gaining a true appreciation of construction, to better understand the customers’ requirements. This allowed me to contribute the best technical application specific to their needs, supported by the best commercial proposal to secure their order.

Over the past 10 years, I’ve seen a gradual improvement across the industry in how women are perceived and it’s encouraging to see that there are significantly more women working on site now.

What advice would you give to the next generation of young women joining the industry?

My advice would be not to be put off by the outdated view of what a woman needs to be to make it in the construction industry, along with the perception that women need to be more like men to succeed. There are many interesting opportunities within the construction industry and women can prove they are just as capable.

Successfully achieving your objectives and targets is the best indicator of how well you can do your job.  Gender shouldn’t be a factor for anyone building a career in this industry.

I have the bonus of knowing that my young boys think it’s very cool what I do. That might be because they think I’m like Bob the Builder, but at five and three, I’ll take being a cool Mum where I can!

What challenges will young women entering the industry potentially face?

The building industry is very fast paced, very demanding and is constantly evolving, so in my specific circumstances, being a Mum in this industry can be quite a challenge. You need to be willing to work hard to succeed and focus on your personal development to help build your credibility and your career. Learn from good people that you work with and take full advantage of the experience around you, which can come from your own team as well as your customers. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and use all situations as a learning opportunity.

What do you enjoy most about the construction industry?

I love seeing a project that I’ve been involved with from tender stage right through to securing the order, come to life. Some may consider my contribution of meeting the customers’ Forming and Shoring needs quite small when compared with the contractors who build the structures, but for me it’s incredible to see the buildings develop, particularly some of the big city projects in my local area of Manchester. To repeat the cycle that I had growing up and now be able to point out buildings to my boys and say ‘Mummy worked on that building,’ is something special.

Women in Construction Week takes place from March 2^nd to 8^th.

For more information, visit https://www.doka.com/uk/career/career.