One of the main barriers preventing women working in the trades includes a lack of support.
Many companies in the trades claim that they are inclusive and support women working at their companies, but they don’t have anything to show for it.
At the bottom of its website, Bird Built displays the BCITO icon which reads: “supporting women in the trades” and pictured is a female gender symbol with a hard hat. Bird Built administrator, Abby Ley, is the embodiment of that symbol for the company.
Reflecting on her experience on the tools, Abby says, “It gave me great insight and understanding on how a building site runs and the process of how it all comes together.
“In the last few weeks, I’ve been on the tools again because we had a really busy patch. I like the variety and don’t mind putting on the boots to help the team.
“Cameron and the team have been so supportive, it’s certainly helped me to really understand the day-to-day duties and responsibilities of a builder.”
Abby’s experience on the tools gave her a sense of confidence and an understanding of work sites that many other administrators don’t have.
Also, she’s feels more in tune with the team as Abby says, “Usually, behind the desk, the team might only see you once every few weeks and communicate via phone and emails.
“But being onsite, you get to know everyone on a more personal level, it’s been really great.”
At Bird Built, the team’s cooperation and values cross over to how the business is run.
Bird Built strives to be professional and approachable at all times, whether it’s replying to emails promptly, keeping sites tidy or welcoming people onsite.
Abby says, “We try and put ourselves in the customer’s shoe and ask ourselves: what would we want from our builder?
“What would we expect from our builder in this situation? The answer then leads to the right action to take.
“We treat all of our customers like they’re going to be a repeat one,” she says.
“We don’t want to just build a house for someone once, we want them to come back and do another one or recommend us to their family and friends”
