JUNG UK Women’s Day – Celebrating Women in Construction with KNX UK
KNX UK was delighted to be part of this celebration of Women in Construction in honour of International Women’s Day.
The afternoon was hosted by Nikita Thompson of JUNG UK. A qualified electrician, Nikita’s early career encompassed commercial and domestic wiring, diagnostics and programming. She is better known perhaps for her many years of experience in KNX technology as a systems integrator, distributor and more recently manufacturer. It is fair to say that Nikita is well placed to celebrate women in construction, understanding the opportunities and challenges the sector represents.
The afternoon comprised conversation, lunch and some bubbly and was further enhanced by an on-site massage. In addition to the gracious celebration offered by our hosts, there was a wealth of experience in attendance and the exchange of knowledge and ideas was a great takeaway.
Varied Backgrounds and Commonalities
There were women from varied backgrounds, electrical installation, the DWP, systems integration, manufacturing and distribution, architecture, interior design and industry press.
It is easily observable that the majority of site-based occupations remain heavily male dominated, although those in architecture reported a little more gender balance and interior design represents a much more heavily female dominated workforce. However, this sector is often subject to a lack of understanding, considered by many as having relevance only in terms of decoration and soft furnishings once a building is finished (traditionally a feminine role).
It was pointed out that this can be a missed opportunity – interior designers frequently have closer contact with the client throughout the full life cycle of the project. Excluding interior design input from early stages can negate the needs of the client to influence the placement of services, functional and structural features to ensure their needs and preferences are met. This oversight can often contribute to client dissatisfaction and end of project conflict.
KNX Integrators pointed out that this also applies to smart home and building controls, where adding detailed design during the development of the controls strategy can make a big difference to the efficiency of the build programme, design/installation costs and ultimately that of the end-user experience.
Vital to industry growth
There were many stories of career choices and progression exchanged and reasons for choosing construction-based careers, sometimes out of a recognition of the opportunities in the industry and sometimes as the result of a multitude of changes in circumstance, chance encounters and a need for a reliable occupation.
Conversation turned to the career choices presented to young girls who rarely consider construction as a viable choice and the lack of retention of those who do embark on construction-based careers. The personal experiences of those at the event demonstrated this time and time again. The lack of female friendly facilities on project sites can impact the willingness of women to remain in site-based occupations resulting in changing careers or taking a sideways move, to avoid working on site. Many agreed that old school beliefs and prejudices persist in some environments, but the change in policy means that this has been reduced to individual personalities rather than the cultural norm it used to be. Although the phrase ‘this is exactly why women shouldn’t be on site’ can still be heard on occasion.
The UK construction industry accounts for 7 – 9% of the total workforce but is facing huge skills shortages with a need for approximately 48,000 new workers needed annually over the next four years to keep up with demand. Increasing the number of new recruits across the industry may require some thoughtful cultural changes to accommodate the diverse needs of the whole workforce.
The women we met are bringing their A game and all were agreed that young women need to be made aware of the opportunities and possibilities in the UK construction industry when considering career choices.
We are looking forward to partnering in this initiative with JUNG UK again next year and hope to create a regular event to celebrate women and highlight the need for more diversity and collaboration across all services through the build process.
After all, KNX is all about collaboration, interoperability and evolving to changing environments.
