Lucy Roper’s weekly Built Environment news round-up: November 15, 2018
Posted on: 15 November, 2018
Each week, UCEM Information Governance Manager, Lucy Roper reports on the latest news stories from the Built Environment.
This week, positive developments to do with women in construction, dementia-friendly home innovation and the opening of Africa’s longest suspension bridge are the stories which have caught Lucy’s eye…
AECOM sees rise in number of female graduates
Construction Manager reports that multinational engineering firm, AECOM has seen an 18% rise in the number of female graduates joining the company compared to five years ago.
With a greater focus on widening participation seen as key for the Built Environment sector to plug skills gaps, this is a very encouraging story and interestingly, makes note of the strategy AECOM carried out in specifically targeting women to join the firm.
A potential case study for other companies wishing for a more even make-up of the sexes within their workforces…
Women in construction: 12 stories
They say a picture is worth a thousand words and The Guardian has followed that advice (and then some!) with what it calls a ‘picture essay’ shining a spotlight on 12 women working in the construction industry with photos and anecdotes from each.
The stories given aren’t all overwhelmingly positive but give a voice to the relatively small, but growing, numbers of women working within the UK construction industry.
Each woman discusses their role in the industry in 150-300 words and it provides an engaging snapshot of where UK construction is right now and what perceptions exist among its female workers.
Dementia-friendly demonstration home
Dementia, sadly, isn’t going away anytime soon and is expected to become more and more widespread. Fortunately, awareness of the condition is also increasing and more is being done to cater for those with dementia.
BRE – the world’s leading building science centre – has come together with Loughborough University to work on a dementia-friendly demonstration home designed to educate housebuilders, carers and relatives on how to better support those living with the condition.
The research is a great endorsement of the many positive transformations which can be brought about by a career within the Built Environment.
Africa’s longest suspension bridge open for business!
The longest suspension bridge in Africa was opened to the public on Saturday and Global Construction Review has all the details.
For more from Lucy, take a look at her latest e-bulletin.
