Women and Manual Trades (WaMT) and Procure Plus are proud to support the ‘City & Guilds Women’s Maintenance Programme’ – a new initiative opening doors for women in housing maintenance.
In collaboration with Build Salford, Frameworks Social Enterprise CIC, and Salix Homes, and funded by the City & Guilds Foundation, the programme provides female residents of housing associations with practical training and the tools to access skilled, local employment.
The bespoke programme supports seven women through eight days of intensive off-the-job training over two weeks, followed by a four-day immersive work experience placement.
Developed in direct consultation with housing associations, the curriculum focuses on essential, in-demand maintenance skills, ensuring participants gain practical, career-ready experience.
Procure Plus Holdings and Women and Manual Trades (WaMT), part of Procure Plus’s subsidiary charity, have provided Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to all participants, supporting their learning during the course and work placements.
The initiative is being delivered as a pilot, with the aim of developing a scalable model that WaMT can roll out more widely to support more women into skilled trades careers.
Meg Lee, Employment and Training Manager for the WaMT programme, said:
“Women remain seriously underrepresented in construction and housing maintenance, but programmes like this are helping to change that.
“By giving women the confidence, skills, and hands-on experience to thrive, we’re not only opening up new career paths, we’re helping to build a more diverse, resilient workforce for the future.”
Procure Plus is committed to maximising social value, ensuring procurement delivers real benefits for communities, creating pathways into work, and addressing skills gaps in housing maintenance.