Eighteen-year-old Becky Wharmby is striking a constructive blow for women in the building business.

The Entry to Employment student is using Rathbone Bury’s new Brierley Street workshop to cement a career for herself laying bricks.

Becky Wharmby

According to industry figures, just 1% of the workforce on British building sites is female. But that wasn’t going to stop Becky (from nearby Whitefield) from taking up the trowel.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left high school but once I walked around Rathbone and saw the new construction units, I knew it had to be bricklaying” said Becky.

She has taken some stick for her choice of profession – but not from the lads around her in the building or joinery workshops. “Most of my friends outside of Rathbone work in shops” continued Becky, “and they thought my choice of career was a bit strange.”

Her tutor Peter Myers believes Becky has “the right attitude to succeed” in a job that could even take her overseas. “My motto is, “have trowel, will travel”” said Peter who has worked as far afield as Australia. He also tells his trainees that now is the perfect time to train in construction. “We may be in recession but the business goes in peaks and troughs. When the good times return in a couple of years time, people will need someone to build homes and offices – and trainees like Becky will be in a great position to find work.”

As for construction being as a “man’s job” – Peter disagrees. “All you need is a good pair of hands” he says.

Becky is studying on the Entry to Employment programme, which combines earning qualifications with gaining a practical taste of the workplace.