Bristol Woman Trains the Next Generation of Tradeswomen Amid UK Skills Crisis

Women in trades remain drastically underrepresented in the UK, with 96% of construction jobs held by men. However, one Bristol woman is taking practical action to change that. Caroline Henn runs BePractical DIY, providing women with hands-on training in construction, plumbing, and electrical work. In an industry where 96 per cent of jobs are held by men, her courses offer something that mainstream training routes often do not: an environment where women can learn practical skills without being the only woman in the room.

The timing is significant. As the UK construction sector faces a deepening skills crisis, the case for bringing more women in trades has never been stronger. An ageing workforce, insufficient recruitment of young people, and a long-standing failure to attract women into the trades have left the industry short of the workers it needs to deliver on housing targets, infrastructure projects, and the net-zero retrofit programme.

Why the UK Needs More Women in Trades

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has been increasingly vocal about the workforce gap. Its chief executive, Brian Berry, has stated that attracting more women into the trades is vital to addressing the skills crisis, calling for clear, accessible pathways into construction careers. The FMB’s position reflects a growing consensus across the sector: relying on the same recruitment pools that have sustained the industry for decades is no longer viable.

With 96% of UK trade jobs held by men, construction has one of the most extreme gender imbalances of any sector in the economy. In contrast, even historically male-dominated fields such as engineering and technology have made more progress in attracting women, albeit from a low base. Despite this, construction has remained stubbornly resistant to change, partly because of a culture that many women find unwelcoming, and partly because entry routes into the trades have not been designed with women in mind.

What BePractical DIY Offers Women in Trades

Henn’s approach is deliberately practical. BePractical DIY runs courses that teach women core construction skills, from basic plumbing and electrical work to carpentry and general maintenance. The courses are designed for women at different stages: some are considering a career change into the trades, while others want practical skills for home improvement or property renovation.

What distinguishes BePractical from a standard college course is the learning environment. Specifically, women-only classes remove the dynamic that many women report as a barrier to entering trade training: being the sole woman in a group of men, often in a culture where assumptions about competence run deep. As a result, Henn is addressing one of the most commonly cited reasons women give for not pursuing careers in traditionally male-dominated skilled trades.

Women in Trades: The Business Opportunity

For women considering alternative career paths, the construction skills crisis represents a genuine opportunity. Qualified tradespeople are in high demand, and wages in skilled trades have been rising as employers compete for a shrinking pool of workers. A competent plumber, electrician, or carpenter can build a sustainable self-employed business with relatively modest startup costs, and the demand for their services is unlikely to diminish in the coming years.

Moreover, this is a point that the growing number of self-employed women in the UK should note. Unlike many white-collar career paths, the trades offer immediate, tangible demand for a specific skill, with the flexibility to work independently. For women who have been exploring side hustles or alternative income streams, training in a construction trade could provide a more durable foundation than many of the options typically marketed to female entrepreneurs.

Barriers Still Facing Women in Trades

Although Henn’s work addresses the training gap, systemic barriers extend beyond the classroom. Women entering the construction trades face challenges around site culture, access to appropriately sized protective equipment, and a lack of visible role models. The industry’s long working hours and physically demanding conditions can also conflict with caring responsibilities, which continue to fall disproportionately on women.

Consequently, the FMB’s call for clear, accessible pathways acknowledges that individual training initiatives, however effective, cannot solve these problems alone. Policy interventions are needed: better apprenticeship structures for mature career changers, workplace culture standards that are actually enforced, and procurement requirements that incentivise contractors to diversify their workforce.

Furthermore, there are questions about how skills training is marketed to women. Too often, enterprise support for women defaults to digital, creative, or service-based business models. Therefore, expanding the range of sectors that women’s enterprise support covers, including the trades, would better reflect the breadth of opportunity available.

A Practical Model for Getting More Women in Trades

What Henn has built in Bristol is small in scale but significant in principle. BePractical DIY demonstrates that when training is designed with women in mind, women show up. The demand for her courses suggests that the barrier is not a lack of interest but a lack of appropriate entry points.

As the UK government faces increasing pressure to deliver on housing and infrastructure commitments, the workforce gap will only widen. The question for policymakers is whether they are prepared to scale this kind of approach, or whether they will continue to lament the skills shortage while doing little to tap the largest untapped talent pool available to them.

Prowess supports women exploring business and career opportunities across all sectors. Read about women in heating engineering, or explore the best-paying jobs for women in 2025.