INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
LYNN CARVILL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF NORTHERN IRELAND’S LEADING QUALITY TRAINING PROVISION FOR WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION AND OTHER NON- TRADITIONAL SKILLS, TALKS TO NI BUILDER… Celebrating International Women’s Day with WOMEN’STEC
TELL US ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND
I believe very strongly that everyone should have the ability to be economically independent. I also understand the nature of the gender-segregated labour market. WOMEN’STEC was a great organisation to tackle both of these issues, and also very importantly, to work with a fantastic industry – the construction industry – to assist in the challenges they experience with skills gaps. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST BARRIERS AND WHAT COULD BE DONE TO SUPPORT GREATER NUMBERS OF WOMEN ENTERING THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY women and girls entering construction and, to be fair, they exist across many industries and work spheres. Childcare and eldercare responsibilities fall mostly on the shoulders of women - and our devolved government have yet to effectively address these issues. Uniquely, however, at a literal level, girls are not encouraged to consider careers in construction – and even today I remain surprised at this. There’s a huge information gap. Why are girls not offered construction careers choices? Over 99% of trade apprenticeships across NI are filled by males. Conversely, females predominate in less lucrative IN NORTHERN IRELAND? Many barriers persist in terms of careers, such as social care and hair, beauty and nails. This is not to say that these are not viable careers; I just think that everyone should have access to all career options. It’s time that careers advice was overhauled, and career stereotypes a thing of the past. Of course, we need to highlight the women that are already working and thriving in the construction industry. They are the role models for the future generations and this visibility is very important. It’s not that long ago that
After school, I studied Sociology, Social Policy and Politics at Queens and then spent two years in Queen’s Students’ Union; one year as vice-president of education and one year as deputy president. I really enjoyed organising student campaigns, editing the student newspaper and helping students who were experiencing difficulties. This was the foundation of everything I moved onto later in my career. I knew at this point that I wanted to work in the community and voluntary sector.
HOW DID YOUR CAREER PROGRESS?
My degree had sparked a particular interest in the areas of poverty and, in particular, the gendered impacts of poverty. I was also interested in labour market issues: employment and unemployment. After a brief stint working with unemployed people in Dungannon, I got my dream job establishing the Organisation of the Unemployed: NI, the northern division of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed. My next dream job opportunity presented in 2008 when I became the first women’s sector lobbyist working with the Women’s Resource and Development Agency. This involved advocacy work with Stormont and local councils in relation to women’s issues. I met so many great people during this time. It was hard work but very rewarding. In 2013, the role of chief executive at WOMEN’STEC came along. I didn’t see it at first, but a number of people approached me saying it was a perfect “It’s time that careers advice was overhauled, and career stereotypes a thing of the past.”
Lynn Carvill.
progression, bringing my labour market and gender experience together. I marked 11 years at WOMEN’STEC in February 24. DID YOU COME INTO WOMEN’STEC SEEKING A NEW CHALLENGE? I had worked in policy and advocacy roles my whole career and the thought of operationalising my experience into service delivery was very appealing. Policy advocacy and development is arduous and slow moving – service delivery has a more immediate impact. It was quite a rocky ride at the beginning, to say the least, but I could see the potential in what the organisation could deliver and the impact it could have on women’s lives. I wanted to lead an organisation and team that would be focused on providing the best training and education experience to our students, initially women and then women and girls on construction and personal development programmes.
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