Action for training providers

Action for change

How training providers can break down
gender segregation in vocational education
and training.

Practical guidance based on examples of actions taken by

training providers to open up non-traditional opportunities
for women and men.
2 Action for change – training providers

Action for change:

breaking down gender segregation in vocational education
and training
Helping women and men to access sectors where they are currently under-represented, and to succeed in
acquiring skills and qualifications in those sectors is a major challenge. Training providers with their Learning
and Skills Councils (LSCs) can play a key role in ensuring that skills and training opportunities are funded and
delivered in ways that enable women and men to participate and benefit equally.

Apprenticeships and vocational training should be a key focus

for challenging gender segregation. There is an opportunity to
make a real difference to individuals, acting as a catalyst for
change to expand choice and increase fairness, as well as
addressing the link between occupational segregation and
Photo courtesy of Lincolnshire & Rutland LSC

skills shortages.

This document suggests practical steps training providers

can take to help break down gender segregation in
Apprenticeships and other training. It is based on tried and
tested methods already being used by providers across
England, which the EOC discovered during its General
Formal Investigation into occupational segregation.
(www.eoc.org.uk/segregation)

This document has three sections:

■ action points and initiatives that training providers can take to involve stakeholders
– atypical recruits, schools, careers advice agencies, employers and business;

■ ways in which training can be structured to ensure atypical trainees are adequately
represented and supported; and

■ details of organisations and resources that can assist in breaking down gender
stereotypes in training provision.

Setting the agenda for change

Phase 1 of our Investigation identified many specific actions that could be taken to help break down gender
stereotyping within the Apprenticeship framework, and more widely.

Phase 2 identified further practical and attitudinal barriers to achieving wider change – and proposals for
removing these. We identified many actions training providers can take to address gender stereotyping with
the support of the LSCs (see Investigation recommendations on the back page).

An Action for Change document aimed at LSCs (www.eoc.org.uk/segregation) also contains many suggestions
that are relevant to training providers. Equally, many of the suggestions here for engaging stakeholders and
structuring training are relevant to LSCs.

Front cover: Photo courtesy of Churchdown School/LSC/ATP

 3

Section 1: Involving Stakeholders

a) What training providers can do…
… to attract non-traditional recruits
■ Implement measures (‘targets’) to recruit atypical trainees and monitor applications
by gender. (see Practice in Action 1)

■ Work with schools and careers advice agencies to increase participation of trainees in
non-traditional sectors. (see Practice in Action 1, 2 and 3)

■ Offer training places to all atypical recruits who meet the key selection criteria.
(see Practice in Action 3)

■ Monitor assessment tests by gender to ensure tests are not acting as a barrier to recruitment
of atypical trainees. (see Practice in Action 1 and 3)

■ Improve access to information about training opportunities and Apprenticeship places,

by working in partnership with the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) and other key stakeholders such
as the Regional Development Agencies. (see Practice in Action 4)

■ Provide taster sessions as part of the Entry2Employment programme, which prepares young people of
school age for entry into work or apprenticeships. (see Practice in Action 5)

■ Work with schools to give hands-on opportunities for young people to experience different
vocational areas, including taster days or weeks, summer schools or student apprenticeships.
(see Practice in Action 2, 6, 7 and 9)

■ Include within the mainstream curriculum work that challenges occupational stereotypes held
by young people, prior to making training schemes choices. (see Practice in Action 2, 7 and 8)

Practice in Action 1
– monitoring
– setting targets
– steadily increasing targets

EEF West Midlands Technology Centre in Birmingham has set a target to increase the recruitment of
females to its apprenticeships, to reach at least 5%. It monitors all applications by gender – from an equal
opportunities section on the form. It also tracks applications through to those that get jobs. Girls make up
2.5% of applicants to Engineering Connections (a website run by EEF for apprenticeship applications) and
make up 0.7% of recruited applicants generally (across England). With its target set, 2.5% of EEF’s
applications were from women, and from those it recruited 2.7% to a Foundation Apprenticeship and 3%
to Advance Apprenticeships. It then increased its target to aim for 10% female apprentices and those from
ethnic minorities to 20%. To encourage more applications from females, EEF works with local girls’
schools, inviting whole classes in to the centre for up to a week. It also invites teachers and Connexions
staff, to get them more involved. www.eef.co.uk
4 Action for change – training providers
Practice in Action 2
– proactive promotion to
non-traditional gender
– taster opportunities
– informal/fun settings
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Training (SBCT)
runs taster days in construction, which girls are
particularly invited to attend. SBCT also trys to
attract more girls into the sector by working with
CITB-ConstructionSkills, and with local Connexions
staff to raise awareness of careers in construction,
particularly among girl pupils. SBCT is involved in
RAGS (Redcar Against Gender Stereotyping), a
project led by Connexions, that provides hands-on
activities for young people to encourage them to
think about a wider range of career options. As an
example, in 2003 they ran an activities event for
500 school pupils. Girls participated in 3 activities
from a choice of 9 traditionally male-dominated
activities, including bricklaying, tetrahedron building
(construction), computing, fire fighting and motor
vehicle maintenance. Similarly, boys chose 3 out of
9 traditionally female activities including childcare,
hairdressing, floristry, dental nursing, dance and
fashion. The event was a huge success, with
bricklaying proving to be the most popular
workshop among the girls. 200 participants
completed evaluations of the day, with over 40
young people indicating that they were interested in
pursuing non-traditional careers. Anecdotal
evidence also suggests that the event had a
significant impact on many of the young people
involved.
Practice in Action 3
– targeting female recruits
– guaranteed places
– assessment to ensure correct entry level
The North London Garages Group Training
Association targets women by going into all-girl
schools; by welcoming applications from girls and
women in all adverts; and by offering an assessment
to all female applicants. If her grades are acceptable,
she is offered a place on the Apprenticeship
programme, and if not she is offered a place on an
Entry2Employment (E2E) programme, which offers
training to National Vocational Qualification Level 1.
www.nlggta.co.uk
Practice in Action 4
– improving the information available to
non-traditional recruits
The EEF West Midlands Technology Centre, with
support from SEMTA and Advantage West
Midlands, produced a directory called Engineering
Connections, showing all the engineering
apprenticeships available in the West Midlands. This
is circulated to every school as well as to
Connexions offices, community centres and
libraries. The centre also runs a website called
www.apprentices.co.uk which lists the vacancies.
Images of women and ethnic minorities are included
in all publicity material. Applications to the
directory and website are monitored via an equal
opportunities monitoring section on the form.
www.eef.co.uk
Practice in Action 5
– offering work experience as part of
E2E and promoting it widely
North London Garages Group Training Association
(NLGGTA) offers a programme of 6 days work
experience for trainees on E2E programmes in
other occupational fields. This broadens the
outlook for those trainees as well as widening the
pool for NLGGTA to recruit from. It also offers
this service to schools through local Education
Business Partnerships (EBPs). Students tend to
enjoy the practical experience – with better
attendance at the scheme than at school! It has
gone on to funding an initiative to broaden this out
to a wider range of students, including those who
are doing GCSEs and are more motivated about
careers. It is hoped that this will feed through in the
long-term into applications for Apprenticeships.
Females have registered on this taster course and
the E2E programme and some have progressed
onto Apprenticeships. NLGGTA recently received
an award for offering “outstanding business
opportunities”. www.nlggta.co.uk
 5

Practice in Action 6 Practice in Action 8

– events and away days as a taster – discussion to challenge stereotypes,
– female role models broaden horizons

Plymouth College of Further Education organises An E2E programme in Birmingham and Solihull,
two regular events – a ‘Young Women into called 3Es, includes a regular tutorial session on
Engineering Awareness Day’ and a ‘Women into equal opportunities. As part of this, the young
Construction Interactive Day’ – both with the people take part in an exercise called ‘What’s my
specific aim of attracting females into these job?’ in which they match pictures of individuals to
sectors. The engineering day starts with a minibus various occupations: model, doctor, nurse, cleaner,
pick-up from school to visit a local employer who chief executive, and so on. The tutor then uses this
offers apprenticeship opportunities, where they as a basis for exploring issues of stereotyping and
are encouraged to try out the equipment. This challenging the young people’s ideas about who
is followed by a tour of the college to meet can do certain jobs. One young man on the course
apprentices in training, including a number of was taking an NVQ level 1 unit in childcare. He
females. Successful women in engineering then intended to continue onto the Apprenticeship when
give presentations about their own careers and he had completed the course. www.3es.com
the opportunities and prospects available, and this
is followed by an informal question and answer
session. The construction day follows a similar Practice in Action 9
pattern, though tours of construction sites are ruled
– making the training environment
out for health and safety reasons. Instead, the girls
more familiar
are given hands-on taster sessions at the college, run
by local craftspeople and tutors. www.pcfe.ac.uk
One engineering training provider offers the
opportunity via Connexions for around 70 young
Practice in Action 7
people to use its facilities once a week as part of a
– taster days for schools vocational GCSE in engineering.
– talks to single sex groups
– student apprenticeships Another training provider, for construction and
plumbing, is part of a local training provider
Derwent Training Association in North Yorkshire network funded by the LSC to provide information
arranged a number of taster days and summer to schools, conduct mock interviews and to help
schools at its training facilities, taking visitors with CV writing and application techniques.
through all aspects of engineering. One event
attracted 68 young people, including around 30
girls. It also invited the Women Into Science and
Engineering bus which has computers and other
facilities on board. The majority of girls who
attended said they had enjoyed computer-aided
design the most, but a significant number cited
pneumatics and welding. Analysis of feedback
questionnaires revealed that young people’s interest
in engineering increased as a result of the day.
Through schools careers officers, the Association
also goes into schools to talk to girls-only groups.
It found girls asked more questions when there
were no boys present. It also introduced a ‘student
apprenticeships’ initiative for sixth-formers doing
A-levels, when students spend a day a week with an
employer and also work towards an industrial
qualification. There is a possibility that this may lead
to a job when he or she finishes school.
www.derwenttraining.co.uk
6 Action for change – training providers

b) What training providers can do…

…. to get employers on board

■ Work with employers to increase their awareness of equal opportunity issues, especially in
recruitment and selection. Atypical trainees often face discriminatory attitudes that block access to work
placement opportunities. (see Practice in Action 10 and 11)

■ Encourage employers, especially those in the private sector, to implement equal opportunities
policies and conduct training on these policies for managers. This will meet their legal obligations
as well as provide the organisational advantages of a diverse workforce. (see Practice in Action 11)

■ Promote the business case for diversity to employers, highlighting the advantages that women can
bring to a business. Our research found that 70% of employers thought atypical recruits could bring
positive benefits to the business, and 80% said a better gender mix would create a better range of skills
and talents. (see Practice in Action 12)

■ Challenge negative views among employers about recruiting atypical apprentices – Consider
providing help with resources if cost is raised as a barrier.

■ Liaise with placement employers to encourage them to adopt flexible working practices that
accommodate the particular needs of women trainees. (see Practice in Action 13)

■ Encourage employer involvement in courses to raise their awareness of atypical trainees and to
increase students employability. (see Practice in Action 14)
Photo courtesy of Jive partners
 7

Practice in Action 10
– free seminars for employers
– best practice

The EEF West Midlands Technology Centre in

Birmingham runs a free seminar on fair recruitment
once a year for employers, which focuses on
gender and race. The seminar introduces them to
aptitude testing and the concept of norms in society
and generally aims to ‘open their eyes to best
practice’. www.eef.org.uk/westmid

Practice in Action 11
– resources and helpline for employers

In North Yorkshire, the training provider PBS

provides all its employer partners with a ‘toolkit’
including a handbook on equality and diversity
issues. It also has a helpline that employers can call
Photo courtesy of Sure Start/Dfes

if they have any queries.

Practice in Action 12
– turning shortage into a marketing tool

“Now people are actively saying that they want a

woman, and we can use that as a marketing tool.”
Trainer at a women’s construction centre Practice in Action 14
– funding
– involving employers
Practice in Action 13
– increasing employability of students
– flexible work hours negotiated with
employers REALISE: Routes into Equality Linking Students
and Employers is a project run by the Women’s
A number of employers in the Information and Electronic Village Hall (WEVH) with European
Communications Technology (ICT) industry have Social Funding. Its objectives are employer
demonstrated an ability to be flexible on working involvement in courses, raising employer awareness,
hours to suit women trainees’ childcare and mentoring, to increase employability of WEVH
responsibilities – brought about, to some extent, students. www.wevh.org.uk
by their close contact with the Women’s Training
Network. Changes to working practices include
ending the working day at 4pm, paying for the
trainee to have Broadband at home, and working
around school holidays and/or sick children. It was
agreed that trainees could make up extra time at
home – a practice to which the ICT industry lends
itself. www.wtn.org
8 Action for change – training providers

Section 2: Reviewing the structure of

training programmes
What training providers can do…
… to support and enable atypical recruits to
participate in training
■ Consider providing single-sex training courses in non-traditional skills to encourage more atypical
candidates to undertake training without the fear of being undermined, ridiculed, or isolated.
(see Practice in Action 17,18 and 20)
■ Use women-only training to target women from minority ethnic backgrounds who for religious or
cultural reasons are unable to train with men. (see Practice in Action 21)
■ Publicity material for courses should feature and explicitly welcome the atypical gender. Materials
only featuring one gender or ethnic group can send a signal that the course is not suitable for or welcoming
to those who are not featured.
■ Set up support mechanisms such as mentoring to prevent work-based apprentices feeling isolated, thus
reducing the chances of them failing to complete their training. (see Practice in Action 15,19 and 22)
■ Provide flexible course hours to fit in with women’s childcare arrangements or other
responsibilities. Women with children are often excluded from training because of inflexible course hours.
This may require ensuring start/finish times fit around school hours and allowing time off during local school
holidays. (see Practice in Action 20)
■ Consider subsidising childcare, either by offering on-site childcare or a childcare allowance paid to a
childcare provider to offset the cost to trainees. (see Practice in Action 20)

■ Offer personal development modules that help atypical trainees build confidence and assertive
behaviour that is often needed to succeed in non-traditional industries. (see Practice in Action 20)
■ Look at providing pre-entry skills training in basic numeracy, literacy and English as a second language,
to create an inclusive learning environment. (see Practice in Action 16)
■ Dedicate resources to helping atypical trainees find work placements, as this has been identified as a
major barrier to completing non-traditional qualifications. Women in non-tradional training often find it
harder to secure work placements than men due to discriminatory or stereotypical attitudes.
■ Look at extra provision that may enable atypical trainees to compete better in the job market.
This should include all aspects of the job application process, including writing letters and CV’s,
completing application forms and practising interview skills. (see Practice in Action 18 and 20)

■ Offer single-sex introductory courses, to encourage more of the non-traditional sex to apply for
training places. (see Practice in Action 17 and 18 and 20)
■ Employ members of the non-traditional sex as trainers and in development roles to help encourage
and support atypical trainees. It is important that trainees have someone they can identify with and feel
comfortable to approach to discuss issues. (see Practice in Action 19 and 20)
■ Get involved in setting up project-based training to increase recruitment, training and support of non-
traditional apprentices. (see Practice in Action 22)
 9

Practice in Action 15 Practice in Action 18

– providing ongoing support via mentors – women only construction courses
– support with basic and job search skills
PBS, a training provider in North Yorkshire, has a
college mentor who interviews candidates in the The Oxford Women’s Training Scheme runs women-
first instance, then continues the mentoring role for only construction courses to improve access for
those who become students at the college. Mentors women to higher levels of training and employment in
are careful to ensure that young people doing non- the industry. After completing a beginner’s course,
traditional Apprenticeships do not stand out as women can progress to a Foundation Construction
being ‘different’ and so the same support is open to Award (equivalent to NVQ level 1). If trainees already
all trainees. Mentors are often present in the have work experience in the industry they can enrol
workshop, and anyone can approach them for an directly onto the NVQ level 2 programme. All
informal chat at these times. www.pbs.org construction skills courses also include study skills,
jobsearch techniques, mentoring support, individual
tutorial support, CITB advice sessions, careers
Practice in Action 16 guidance, access to IT facilities and English and Maths
skills as required. www.owts.org.uk
– offer basic skills training

“Numeracy and literacy are offered on all entry-

Practice in Action 19
level courses. The Council won’t fund ESOL here,
so we use the ESF funding for the ESOL support.” – same sex trainers and mentors
Trainer, women’s ICT training centre
Bedfordshire County Council offers one-to-one
support and mentoring for men wishing to undertake
Practice in Action 17 training within childcare. The authority also believes
that employing men as childcare trainers and in
– men only introductory childcare courses
development roles may help to prevent men from
dropping out between making an initial enquiry and
Bradford City Council held three men-only
finding employment or training in childcare.
introductory programmes as part of a project aimed
www.bedfordshire.gov.uk
at increasing participation by black and ethnic
minority men in childcare; and Derbyshire County
Council has held two men-only introductory
Practice in Action 20
childcare courses in partnership with the county’s
Mobile and Coalfields Vocational Training Project. – flexible course hours
www.derbyshire.gov.uk www.bradford.gov.uk – personal development
– childcare facilities
– business support

Women’s Electronic Village Hall (WEVH) is a

computer training and resource centre offering a
wide variety of ICT training for women. All courses
are designed to meet the needs of women. Flexible
training programmes are organised around school
Photo courtesy of Learning & Skills Council

hours and holidays, and distance learning courses are

also being researched for the future. WEVH has well-
equipped childcare facilities. Classes are small, creating
a friendly atmosphere with lots of individual tuition.
All trainees are offered personal development,
counselling and career guidance. They also run taster
sessions in basic skills such as using email, and offer
business support for women-owned businesses and
sole traders. www.wevh.org.uk
10 Action for change – training providers

Practice in Action 22
– project-based training
– supporting atypical trainees in a group
environment
– providing flexibility in work-based training

“In construction there are many very small units.

Photo courtesy of Forum Training Ltd

Companies move people around short-term local
projects. This causes a particular problem for
atypical employees – you are a role model in
continually changing new surroundings amongst new
people. Programmes such as Youthbuild have used
external mentors to help support young people
with these sorts of difficulties. But it is difficult if
you have apprentices scattered around sites – it’s
Practice in Action 21 much easier to organise if they are in a group...
[That is why] we are moving on to tackle the issue
– meeting the needs of Black and ethnic
on a project basis. We look for reasonably large,
minority women
long-term projects where we can establish a
learning centre [at or near that construction site].
“Women only courses are important. We had a
We can arrange for [atypical workers] to have
Muslim student there, whose husband would only
support, put in mentors, and at the same time we
let her go on a women-only course. But the training
can educate the people working on the project,
was really valuable to her”.
address the cultural issues, and get economies of
Tutor on women’s training course.
scale. This approach also sometimes makes it
possible to harness together different sources of
funding. [In addition] if the training is being run on a
project basis, potentially you can arrange cover [if a
trainee needs to take time off for family reasons]
and the project doesn’t grind to a halt.”
www.citb.co.uk
Peter Lobban,
CITB-ConstructionSkills
 11

Section 3: Organisations and resources

that can assist training providers to
challenge gender stereotypes
JIVE www.jivepartners.org.uk
JIVE (Joint Interventions) Partners is a national European Social Fund project led by Bradford College, which aims
to create cultural change in engineering, construction and technology by addressing the barriers that prevent
women from pursuing careers in these sectors. Working with LSCs, training providers, careers professionals and
employers, JIVE has a range of strategies designed to help girls succeed in male-dominated sectors.

UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology

www.setwomenresource.org.uk
UKRC is a dynamic hub that provides accessible, high quality information and advisory services to employers,
professional bodies, Sector Skills Councils, careers professionals and higher and further education to promote
best practice in the recruitment, retention and progression of women in SET and the built environment.

Lets Twist Project www.letstwist.bradfordcollege.ac.uk

A national project run by Bradford and Ilkley College to encourage and support women and girls into
engineering and construction careers.

The GERI project www.geriproject.org

The GERI (Gender Equality and Race Inclusion) consortium was formed to help LSCs, training providers,
schools, careers advisers and employers to tackle gender and ethnic stereotyping.

Women in science, engineering and technology www.set4women.gov.uk

Government-run campaign that provides posters, videos, magazines and teaching materials.

Women and Manual Trades www.wamt.org

Produces videos and teaching packs.

WISE www.wisecampaign.org.uk
WISE (Women Into Science and Engineering) promotes these sectors as career options to girls and women
across the UK, through brochures, posters, websites, a video, hands-on courses and presentations. The
campaign works with teachers, careers advisers, parents, employers, politicians and the media.

Gender and achievement website www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/genderandachievement

Department for Education and Skills website for teachers, local education authorities and others with an
interest in gender differences and related areas of achievement.

Science Year www.scienceyear.com

Initiative to raise awareness among young people aged 10 –19 of the wide range of subjects and careers that
are underpinned by science and technology.

Women and Equality Unit (WEU) www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk

WEU produces ‘Does Sex Make a Difference?’ an equality resource aimed at teachers, careers advisors and
those who work with young people aged about 14. The pack contains useful statistics and some general
information on International Women’s Day, women in the labour market, the gender pay gap, women’s
representation and domestic violence.
12 Action for change – training providers

Investigation recommendations
Phase 2 of the EOC’s Investigation into occupational segregation identified many actions training providers
can take to address gender stereotyping with the support of the Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs),
including:
● developing training schemes to meet the particular needs of atypical trainees including flexible
working hours, single sex training, and support mechanisms/mentoring of atypical trainees;
● improving access to information about training opportunities, by working in partnership with key
stakeholders including Sector Skills Councils (SSCs);
● providing taster sessions including the Entry2Employment programmes;
● working with schools to provide opportunities for young people to experience different vocational
areas such as taster days;
● devising pilot schemes to test the interventions that employers said may encourage them to take on
more minority-gender apprentices and trainees;
● working with employers to ‘rebrand’ training and work opportunities and re-define skills in
male-dominated sectors in ways that will appeal to both sexes;
● working with employers to increase their awareness of equal opportunities issues and the business
case for diversity;
● dedicating resources to helping atypical trainees find work placements; and
● employing members of the non-traditional sex as trainers and in development roles.

LSCs can further promote equality through the requirements they place on, and the support they provide to
training providers, including:
● collecting and making available to young people annual data on Apprenticeship frameworks by sector,
gender, race and disability, along with apprenticeship pay rates;
● setting national and local measures (targets) or Equality and Diversity Impact Measures (EDIMs) to
reduce gender segregation in Apprenticeships; and
● introducing training for employers and training providers to improve recruitment practices
and training and workplace culture.

Equal Opportunities Commission

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© EOC March 2005