New study reveals a 366% increase in females becoming tradeswomen in the UK

A new study by GoCompare Van has found a growing increase in the number of females taking on ‘trade jobs’ in the UK – a space usually dominated by males.

The study which analysed the biggest trade jobs women are stepping into identified a rise in the number of women learning the trade younger. Results found there has been a 366% increase in young females taking on apprenticeships in construction and engineering in the past five years.

Leading the trade revolution for women are painters and decorators. This job accounts for 33% of all women with a trade. In second place are plumbers, with 28.38% of women in the trade. Completing the top three are electricians, with 11.55% of tradeswomen pursuing careers as ‘sparkies’.

For course starters in 2019/20, there were 10,170 females in construction and a further 45,010 enrolling in engineering.

However, there’s still a huge difference in pay across males and females in the construction and trade industry. As with many types of employment, men take home significantly more pay: in trades, men earn on average £7,115 more per year.

A spokesperson from GoCompare commented: “This report shows that, in the past five years, there’s been a 366% increase in women enrolling in trade-focused apprenticeships which represents a real step change, particularly with more women taking the plunge into construction and engineering roles and apprenticeships.

“The report also shows that females in London are leading the way, as the capital has the highest number of females taking on trade apprenticeships. Our data reveals that in Southwark in particular, one in three trade apprentices are female.

“GoCompare has also seen a 6% year on year increase in women quoting for van insurance which coincides with this rise – including females aged between 17-24. It seems lockdown impacted this as in summer last year, there was a large jump from April to July when quotes for van insurance doubled.”

https://www.gocompare.com/van-insurance/women-in-trade-report/