Women & Work

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The "Women & Work" project is an initiative to help women across nine sectors secure better training to fulfil their potential.

It is estimated unlocking the potential of women in the labour market could be worth between £15 and £23 billion to the UK economy.

The Government investment is matched by contributions from employers to provide skills training, development and support.

Over a two year period the Women and Work scheme aims to give up to 10,000 women across nine industries the chance to train for a new job or progress within their company into higher skilled, better paid jobs. The project is being delivered by the Sector Skills Councils in conjunction with employers.

Asset Skills is running the Women and Work programme in the cleaning industry.

In the first year we succeeded in putting 1,600 women through the course. In April 2008 the project entered its second phase.

The seeds sown last year mean there are now a number of employers and training providers keen to play a part in facilitating high quality training.

And some of the women involved in the first round of training are now promoting and delivering the projects to their colleagues.

Some women may simply wish to add new skills to their CVs while others harbour ambitions to climb the corporate ladder.

Whatever the goals, the Women and Work programme can give them a helping hand on to the first rung of the ladder. 

Success story: North Yorkshire County Council

Seven staff members from the cleaning and grounds maintenance department of North Yorkshire County Council were put through a Team Leading Award programme, funded by the Women and Work project.

After attending the course the women put their newly acquired leadership talents to good use back in the workplace.

"These seven women are now involved in helping roll out training plans for staff across the service," says Karen Adamson, the council's Cleaning Services Manager. "This includes 1,000 cleaners and caretakers."

Karen sees the programme as a valuable part of the women's career development, equipping them to move into management positions in the future.

The programme is designed to give the team a greater understanding of what operations managers and their assistants have to deal with when working across such a massive area.

Success story: Metro Clean, Doncaster

Anne Collins is a supervisor from Doncaster Council's specialist building cleaning service Metro Clean.

Her Women and Work training centred on a development programme that included leadership skills and on-the-job learning like new infection control methods.

"Women and Work has been a fabulous experience," she says. "The training has been a real boost to my confidence…. it has helped me in so many different ways, and I now want to pass on what I've learned to my own team."

Metro Clean is responsible for cleaning around 425 premises, including 116 schools.

The company is dedicated to staff training and development, and has a fully equipped training centre, accredited by the British Institute of Cleaning Science.