Two Winvic Team Members Shortlisted for the Inspiring Women in Construction & Engineering Awards

The shortlists for the Inspiring Women in Construction & Engineering Awards were announced last week and two Winvic Construction Ltd team members feature for the Rising Star – Contribution to Gender Diversity and STEM Champion categories. The winners will be revealed at The Inspiring Women in Construction and Engineering conference and awards evening on 4 October, which will bring together women and allies from both sectors to showcase inspiring role models and empower women in the sector.

The Inspiring Women in Construction & Engineering Awards are produced in partnership with Construction News and New Civil Engineer.

Rising Star: Contribution to Gender Diversity – Kayleigh Merritt

Kayleigh is passionate about promoting construction jobs and training to women – as well as men – but in particular she understands the power of female roles models that helps lead to more female’s working in the industry. Focusing on addressing outdated, incorrect perceptions about roles, working on a construction site and having predominantly male colleagues, Kayleigh breaks down barriers to present a modern construction culture.

Her work – alongside female and male Winvic team members – includes speaking with children and young people, but also extensive collaboration with education providers and parents to strengthening positive outcomes. Kayleigh delivers talks to inspire young people towards hand-on construction training through her role as a T-level ambassador, is a member of South and City College’s Construction Industry Board, the Intermediary Advisory Board and has collaborated with OFSTED for Walsall College. Next on her list is becoming a member of the National Apprenticeship Ambassador Network. Her remit as Winvic’s Talent Development Manager naturally extends to the team and is a champion continued professional development. She collaborates with operational leaders at Winvic so the needs of women on site are always considered, is a Winvic Fairness, Inclusion and Respect (FIR) Ambassador and also developed a Mental Health & FIR training programme, which she delivers to site teams when a project commences.

Kayleigh Merritt, Winvic Talent Development Manager, commented: “Gender diversity with the industry still means giving attention to activities that lead to increased female representation and my interactions with students, parents and tutors allay reservations about site experiences. Results and feedback show we’re most effective when female team members ‘show and tell’, desensitising issues and normalising women in construction. We see even higher engagement when students visit site and see with their own eyes; clean, modern site set-ups with happy and confident women. It’s wonderful that I’ve made the shortlist, but whether I win, I’ll continue to promote the fantastic construction roles available to young men and women.”

STEM Champion – Zoe McArdle

Design Manager Zoe’s passion for promoting STEM is truly inspiring; she utilises her knowledge and skills to be part of an educational cycle where she motivates the next generation, who will encourage the next. She has proactively sought opportunities to learn, kept informed about innovations and significant projects and inspired others outside of her day-to-day work.

To achieve her goals, she wanted to network with experienced professionals outside of her company and role, and with people at similar career stages. She started on this path by becoming a Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) member in 2018 and joined its Tomorrow’s Leaders Champion group, and has never looked back. She’s spoken at schools and colleges about her role and industry careers, took part in an alternative initiative to a traditional work experience placement with year 10s, joined the National Association for Women In Construction (NAWIC) Yorkshire committee and more recently re-launched the NAWIC Northwest arm, becoming Chair. Zoe’s also about to become a STEM Learning STEM Ambassador.

Zoe McArdle, Winvic Design Coordinator, said: “My passion guarantees more students are being educated about STEM roles, career paths and salaries, combatting the outdated perception of ‘being a builder’. I explain education routes and the benefits of hand-on learning qualifications or university and also highlight technologies like BIM, VR and AI. Projects can only be delivered with all of the required skills and I hope my work helps to avoid future shortages. I’m delighted to be recognised for my contribution and I’m looking forward to the conference and winners announcement to do even more networking with likeminded women.”

For more information on latest project news and job vacancies please visit www.winvic.co.uk. Join Winvic on social media – visit Twitter @WinvicLtd – and LinkedIn.