Outside Media & Knowledge is proud to be a partner on the FEMCON project. This takes our work on empowering women one step further. This step takes us into a specific industry – the construction industry. Women in this industry deserve more visible roles, at the same time when the industry itself is facing challenges and workforce shortages.
The future of the EU construction industry needs women
The future of the EU construction industry is threatened by a chronic shortage of labour – Europe’s construction output cannot keep pace with demand (OECD). Construction was facing labour shortage issues before COVID-19. Now, the industry faces even more labour impacts, just as growth seems imminent. Across Europe, women comprise only 9% of the construction industry’s workforce, leaving a huge talent pool that we’re not tapping into. Construction labour shortages in the EU are also expected to increase in the future due to the declining population & the ageing workforce.
The number of women in construction fell even further in the pandemic. A survey to mark International Women’s Day 2021 (Search Consultancy) is clear: “Although research shows that 83% of managers in the construction sector believe their industry is suffering from a skills’ shortage, little is being done to encourage a more diverse workforce & consequently widen the talent pool available”.
The EU construction needs to employ more women to have a sustainable future.
FEMCON objectives
As an overarching objective, FEMCON will develop innovative vocational education & training tools that will assist women working in or considering a career in the construction industry to progress to visible roles within the industry. It will increase the attractiveness of the industry for women, thus leading to a greater number of women choosing the sector, creating conditions for positive change to happen, and improving the industry gender outlook & quality of life in the male-dominatedsector. According to EUROSTAT, the construction sector has the highest share of men employed (92%). With FEMCON’s VET (vocational education and training) tools, and new gender equality skills will be acquired to create a safe & welcoming environment for the female workforce in this field.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES correspond to PROJECT RESULTS
1. Help VET educators reach construction companies & potential female workforce, inspiring them to learn more about the need for change. We equip leaders in construction companies to develop their own Inclusion Action Plan that will lead to change (PR1: FEMCON INCLUSION REACH & TEACH toolkit)
2. Help career progression & development for females in the construction industry through PR2 FEMCON CURRICULUM – a collection of Open Education Resources for VET educators to train women working or interested in a career in the construction industry.
3. Inspire women interested in construction careers, those already working in the construction industry, construction employers and VET providers to strive towards more visible female roles and more favourable positions in the industry, by highlighting solutions that can be implemented further, through FEMCON Women in Construction Good Practice Showcase (PR3). (35 case studies).
4. Facilitate collaboration and learning, through R4: FEMCON Women in Construction Platform & online course, utilising the outputs from 3 PRs & creating additional learning materials in form of an online course.
Join the FEMCON social media channels to find out more and support our cause:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12735551/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087627297922
