Background
For every year since 2010/11, women have accounted for over half of new apprenticeship starts. However, there are large disparities in the number of men and women taking on apprenticeships in different sectors. Women are particularly under-represented in construction, engineering and ICT, where in 2015 they made up only two, six and 18 percent of apprentices respectively.
Women are often held back from pursuing apprenticeships in non-traditional sectors by views of individuals, parents and the wider society on gender-specific careers, and a lack of good role models in non-traditional sectors.
Ensuring a good rate of female applicants can help employers to make sure that they have the best person for the job. Many organisations also report female applicants to non-traditional sectors to be of a particularly high quality, since they have made a conscious decision to pursue a career in that sector.
It is also important to note that gender is a protected characteristic in the Equality Act (2010) and employers have a legal duty to not discriminate based on it.
This section presents case studies of organisations with good practice in supporting the employment of female apprentices in non-traditional sectors. This includes outreach and recruitment work, work placements and training, and the use of previous female apprentices as inspirational role models.
Further sources of information, support and guidance for employing women in non-traditional sectors include: WISE, Women’s Engineering Society, Young Women’s Trust and Women in STEM.
