WLC Take Part in Careers for Women in Construction Event

On 27 May 2025, Lambeth Town Hall came alive with energy and ambition as attendees gathered for the Careers for Women in Construction event, a specialist event dedicated to inspiring and connecting women with live job, apprenticeship and training opportunities across the construction sector.

Hosted in collaboration with major industry players including Peabody, Countryside Partnerships (part of the Vistry Group), Be Lambeth, The Worshipful Company Of Constructors, and Metropolitan Thames Valley, the event was a powerful showcase of collaboration, inclusion, and opportunity.

West London College was honoured to be a key partner in delivering this landmark event. Anna Walterskoetter, Deputy Head of Construction and Green Skills at WLC, took to the stage, drawing on her experience as a former project manager at Women Into Construction (WiC).

Reflecting on the day, Anna said: “WLC were lucky to be chosen to partner with Vistry Group for this magnificent event. It was an honour for me to be presenting, tapping into my previous experience at WiC and my current role at the college. It was great to hear the strong arguments made for removing barriers for women by utilising social value targets as well as offering training and work experience programmes. I hope we inspired many more women to take up a career in the industry and to explore our upcoming women in construction courses.”

Anna also spoke about the college’s upcoming Women into Construction introduction course, planned to start in early June 2025 at Southall Community College. The four-week course will be delivered every Monday and Wednesday evening and is designed for to support unemployed women seeking to discover the varied and well-paid job opportunities in construction.

The day featured powerful panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and vibrant networking sessions led by trailblazing female professionals from across the construction industry. Speakers included Cécile-Agathe Bouchet, Economic Inclusion Lead at Peabody; Deborah Pullen MBE, Master of the Worshipful Company of Constructors; and Jo Chau, Senior Project Manager at HS2, each of whom shared their honest, insightful perspectives on how to succeed in a traditionally male-dominated field.

Key themes included the importance of borough-specific social value creation, the alignment of Section 106 commitments with community-led employment outcomes, and the critical need for structural change to address the UK’s construction labour shortage – with 250,000 new workers needed by 2028.

The event’s success was made possible thanks to the dedication of 30 behind-the-scenes contributors from Metropolitan Thames Valley, Vistry Group, Peabody, The Worshipful Company Of Constructors, Be Lambeth, and West London College.

With a room full of women ready to take their next steps into the construction industry, the focus now turns to action – connecting talent to real, sustainable employment pathways.