This week, the women taking part in Wired for Success: ECA Women into Electrical Contracting will take a step forward in the journey towards becoming qualified domestic electrical installers as they start their on-site training in the homes of Londoners.
The women have recently all achieved their Electrotechnical Certification Scheme (ECS) Cards, and are now able to put their theoretical knowledge into practice, as they work with electrical contracting firms Smith & Byford, Axis and Mulalley, in occupied properties across the capital.
This step for the ladies comes in the same week as International Women’s Day (IWD), today. To mark IWD, the ECA is calling for other forward thinking organisations from the private sector to follow its lead and actively address the social and economic issues women face; such as the highest levels of female unemployment since 1987.
Wired for Success trainee, 43 year old Vicki Van Eck, said: “I’m so excited to get started. I’m a very hands-on person, so it’ll be great to see how all the things we have learned in the classroom are applied in a real-life situation.”
Wired for Success was conceived by former ECA president and ECA skills ambassador, Diane Johnson. Johnson said: “In an industry which is facing a future skills shortage, it seems ludicrous to me that less than one per cent of fully qualified electricians are female. By providing a flexible but rigorous learning route, this initiative will give women the opportunity to become equipped with the skills they need for a career.”
At the end of the two-year Wired for Success programme, the women will be fully qualified to work competently and safely in the domestic environment. The training programme has been designed so that delivery is flexible enough to suit those with family commitments.
All of the women are currently living housing provided by the ECA’s principal partner in this initiative, L&Q, and their practical training will take place in the homes of fellow L&Q residents. Ciaran Porter, L&Q neighbourhood investment manager, says: “At L&Q, we are very focused on working with partner organisations to provide new opportunities for our residents. What better way to achieve that than to support an innovative scheme like Wired for Success, which offers people the chance to enter into a new career with real potential.”
Johnson concluded: “The ladies are all doing really well in their theory lessons; the group achieved a 100% pass rate on their ECS exam, and I know they will cope brilliantly with the challenges they will face as they head out into real-life situations. They will not receive any special treatment on-site, and they are all really looking forward to getting started.”
The ECA hopes Wired for Success will become a blueprint, which other forward-thinking industries can replicate to make a career in their sector more accessible to under represented groups.