With women expected to make up a quarter of all construction workers in the UK by 2020, five star housebuilder, Barratt Developments, is celebrating women in construction roles in Yorkshire.
Barratt Developments’ Yorkshire East division is profiling one of the newest recruits to its Technical team, to show that housebuilding isn’t just for men, and to encourage more women to consider a career in the industry.
Justyna Snigurska, Technical Coordinator, joined Barratt Developments Yorkshire East three months ago, following her previous role as Head of Projects for UK and Ireland at Cosmo Restaurant Group, where she was managing and overseeing the construction of new restaurants. Justyna was first attracted to working for Barratt Developments due to its reputation as one of Britain’s best and most celebrated housebuilders, as well as its opportunities for a long and rewarding career.
Construction has always played a huge part in Justyna’s life as her mother is a Construction Inspector and her father was an Electrical Project Manager. Barratt Developments presented Justyna with the exciting new challenge she was looking for, as well as the chance to get involved with residential property; a career path she was seeking.
As a trained Architect Engineer, Justyna studied Architecture and Town Planning, and has a vast amount of knowledge on the construction industry. Her current role involves her being on site two-three times a week, participating in various technical meetings, working with the team to resolve technical challenges and monitoring the programme for design work, ensuring that projects are delivered on time.
Justyna, commented: “I thoroughly enjoy my work and I have never had any problem working in an industry traditionally seen as being more male. I believe that it is vital for women to be involved in construction and I think that it is better for a team to be diverse, as everybody contributes to the overall success of projects with different viewpoints and opinions. It also makes the construction environment more open, tolerant and an enjoyable place to work. After all, it does not matter if you are a man or a woman, what matters is that you can do your job to the best of your ability and always stay professional.
“I believe that it is extremely important for women to have equal access to all industries, and Barratt Developments are very educated on workplace rights. The team at Yorkshire East are extremely welcoming and the business as a whole is very encouraging of anyone who would like to work in the construction industry.”
Paul Wharam, Technical Director at Barratt Developments Yorkshire East, commented: “At Barratt Developments we want to work with the very best talent, regardless of their sex, age, gender, faith or background. There’s a substantial need for housing in the UK, and in our region and our aim is to deliver fantastic homes to communities across our area. We welcome a diverse workforce to help us do this and hope we continue to see this diversity expanding across the many areas of our business. We’re proud to champion women in the construction industry and are glad to have people like Justyna as part of our team.”
For more information on Barratt Developments Yorkshire East, please visit:
Author: Katie
Katie Savage