There has never been a better time to consider jobs in housing, say four young women forging careers in the sector.

The Flagship Homes colleagues have urged other women to explore the wide range of housing jobs available to mark Women in Construction Week, which runs from 1-7 March.

Isabel Bateman, 28, from Norwich, joined Flagship Homes four years ago. She said: “Sometimes the word ‘construction’ makes you just think of building, but there are so many more opportunities than you realise. It’s nice to see a good balance between men and women across our team, and more women coming through all the time.

“I didn’t think I’d one day be on a construction site in a hard hat and boots when I was in school. We need to encourage women to be a bit more daring and look into things that weren’t traditionally women’s roles.”

Miss Bateman is Flagship Homes’ Partnership Manager, working across departments and with external partners to keep housing projects on track, and making sure that everything from planning through to handover runs smoothly for customers.

She said Flagship is a great place to grow your career, with plenty of opportunities to develop new skills through apprenticeships and degree programmes while you work.

Miss Bateman said: “You can get that support while you work, which I think makes a real difference. There are a lot of people here doing apprenticeships and degrees alongside their day jobs.”

Women in Construction Week highlights the role of women in an industry facing a deepening skills crisis. The UK’s construction workforce has shrunk by more than 300,000 workers over the past two decades, with over 140,000 vacancies currently unfilled. Women make up around 15 per cent of the overall construction workforce, but fewer than two per cent work in on-site trades.

With the government pushing to deliver 1.5 million new homes this parliament and the Construction Industry Training Board forecasting the sector will need around 48,000 extra workers every year until 2029, the pressure to attract fresh talent has never been greater.

Flagship Homes is a development arm of Bromford Flagship LiveWest (BFL), the country’s largest builder of affordable housing, with plans to build 50,000 new homes by 2040. Miss Bateman is one of many young women building careers across the organisation, in roles spanning design, partnerships, sales and customer care.

Layla Rayner’s interest in housing was sparked through learning about architecture as part of her sixth form History of Modern Art studies.

Miss Rayner, 27 and from Lowestoft, then took an architecture degree while working at a practice, after a mentor helped awaken her passion for design.

She now leads the Design team as Flagship Homes’ Design Manager, shaping new developments from the initial site layout concept, to progressing the design details that make the development.

Miss Rayner said: “It’s not just providing a house type – it’s the elevation materials, the landscape, the boundary treatments, all working with the site layout design to create a successful environment.

“Everything comes together, creating a new community, and what our customers will call their home at the end of it. That really drives me.”

Eva Burton, 21 and from Norwich, is Flagship Homes’ Defect Coordinator, focused on helping iron out issues after people move into new homes.

Miss Burton said: “It makes a huge difference to the people I help, so it’s a really rewarding role. It’s also really nice to build relationships with the on-site contractors, and learn more about what they do and the way they work.”

Miss Burton said she has been struck by how much variety there is in her day-to-day work, and how supportive her colleagues are.

She said: “We’re all in separate teams, but we know there’s one end goal – that’s ending the housing crisis.”

Steffi Moore, 23 and from Norwich, is sales and marketing research co-ordinator. She said she enjoyed being part of the whole process – from purchasing land for new housing, to the construction, and seeing people move into their new homes.

Miss Moore said: “It’s really rewarding to see it come to fruition. I didn’t know half the roles in housing and construction existed before I started at Flagship, and I think a lot of women would be surprised by what’s out there.”

To find out more about jobs at Flagship, visit: https://flagship-homes.co.uk/about-flagship-homes/careers/

Photos credit – Flagship Homes

Photo – Flagship Homes colleagues, from left, Isabel Bateman, Eva Burton, Steffi Moore and Layla Rayner