LEADING women working in Scotland’s construction industry aimed to attract Stirling’s female high school pupils to take up a career in construction this week.

70 female students took part in the skills day hosted at Bannockburn High School. The event was led by prominent women working across a variety of careers in construction. They included stonemason Jess Thomson, who has worked on Stirling Castle, and female digital documentation experts from Historic Environment Scotland who are based at The Engine Shed in Stirling.

The pupils got to try out a range of skills including: building surveying, traditional signwriting, stonemasonry, and earth building.

Women currently make up only 13% of workers in the construction sector, and only 1.5% of modern apprentices within the construction industry in Scotland. Coinciding with International Women’s Day and the Scottish Apprenticeship week, the aim of the event was to show young women the significant opportunities that exist within construction.

Lindsay Lennie, trust manager of Stirling City Heritage Trust said: “This event has demonstrated the high level of interest by girls in traditional skills and has given them the chance to meet a variety of women who are experts in their field. It has been an inspiring and engaging day with excellent feedback. We were delighted to be involved in the delivery of such an innovative and positive event.”