Earlier in the year the Natural Stone Industry Training Group (NSITG) took part in the Women In Construction promotion and saw some inspiring examples of women who are challenging a dated perception of the stone sector as a male preserve. As a result, Claire Wallbridge, administrator of NSITG, proposed the idea of WINS - Women in Natural Stone.
It was an idea that received considerable support, so now WINS will be holding its first meeting (by Zoom) on Thursday 23 September at 11am.
That will be followed by a WINS stand (stand A57) at the 10th anniversary Landscape exhibition taking place at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on 3&4 November.
WINS aims to share best practice and career opportunities for women in the stone industry, highlighting the variety and diversity of roles available and offering advice and guidance specifically for women. During the two-day exhibition you can learn all about the WINS mission on their stand and at their Thursday (4 November) morning seminar session starting at 11.45am.
Claire asks stone companies to invite the women they employ who would benefit from a new networking group specifically aimed at stone sector training to join in, at least with the Zoom meeting. "We are open to trainers and advisors joining too," she says.
The first meeting will be a talking shop to determine what WINS will look like moving forward.
Claire says: "It will also help us demonstrate that we are a diverse and progressive sector and have some great role models for women to aspire to. As a sector we are desperate to recruit new apprentices and any help we can give to getting the world to look again at our career paths benefits all of us."
If you would like to attend or propose someone to attend, Claire would like to hear from you so she can email a Zoom meeting invitation. Her email address is: claire@nsitg.org.uk