Woman builder to break down walls at FPB Small Firms' Summit
Janet Shelley, who was recently awarded an MBE, will tell an audience of owners and managers of smaller businesses that, at the age of 37, she decided to leave the IT industry and go into the building trade. However, she was unable to find a suitable vocational training course, as her local Further Education College only offered modern apprenticeships for people under the age of 25. So, she founded Women Builders, with the aim of carrying out building projects and encouraging women to enter the trade. "The Government says it wants more women to enter manual trades", she said. "But most women who plan to go into the building trade are older and there is little opportunity for them to train." Janet will speak about how Women Builders was set up and the difficulties for a smaller firm in winning public sector contracts. The company carries out housing extensions and building maintenance work, as well as training women builders. It has just launched its own design of work-wear for women builders, WICKED, standing for Women In Construction Kick-arse Every Day. Janet is Chairman of Women and Manual Trades and Vice-Chairman of the Summit Skills and Diversity Interest Group. Since setting up Women Builders, she has been so busy running it that she has still not learned how to plaster. The FPB's Small Firms' Summit is sponsored by Barclays Bank and will be held at Central Hall, Westminster, London on Wednesday, 17 October 2007. The keynote speaker is the Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP, who has been Home Secretary and the Education and Skills Secretary in the present Government. The Summit will also feature workshops at which the owners and managers of smaller businesses can discuss how government policies affect their companies, and make their concerns heard over issues such as red tape and regulations. The FPB has made sure that ‘early birds' will get all this and much more for less than the full price. There is a 20% discount for all those who book and pay before 2 July 2007. For more information or to book a place, www.fpb.org/summit.