College of North East London (CONEL)

Some of our delegates had an opportunity to visit CONEL which is the first completely free trades college in England. They offer training and apprenticeships in many manual trades and they offer several construction trades classes for woman only.

We toured their campus and heard from Glen Lambert on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the trades. We also connected them with communities where they could utilize the supply of labor they are creating.

West London College (WLC)

The other delegates visited WLC. We were happy to see bulletin board where they recognize all the success stories of their apprentices and post pictures with write ups.

We found  knowledgeable and supportive teachers, with a focus on diversity and inclusion. The apprentices were eager to talk with us about their experiences on the job and in the classroom.

You can see their write up of our visit here

Parliment Reception

Our day ended with a networking event in the Houses of Parliament. We received a special tour of the Palace of Westminster, and then we attended a reception on behalf of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), Tradeswomen Building Bridges, and the University of Westminster. It was hosted by member of Parliament, Emily Thornberry. We used the event as an opportunity to exchange views and ideas with members of Parliament, peers, and business leaders on how to attract and retain women into construction.