A Belfast woman who set up her own business to boost diversity in the construction space will expand her services into Britain.
Sinead Molloy, the woman behind She Built It NI — a recruitment, training, mentoring and contractor educator firm — has secured staff and is finalising a location in GB to broaden its geographical reach.
She Built It NI was created just before the pandemic after Sinead returned from working in Australia for 15 years, and during the country's female construction revolution.
Upon her return she noticed a lack of female presence within the roles she worked in here, and decided to become ‘the missing link’ that would connect businesses with ambitious women, and men, seeking roles within construction.
“At the time, when I came back, I was working in Lisburn, and it dawned at me that everyone kept looking and I wondered why, until someone told me how unheard of it is to see a woman handling this big piece of machinery, and that is daunting as a female because, in Australia, you don’t get a second glance.
“I thought, what happens then to the young female here who wants to get into construction and has to deal with that audience, so I put a feeler out to see what the interest was from females to work in construction, and She Built It NI really blossomed from there.”
To date the business has over 200 clients and it offers 28 courses with a 100 per cent pass rate.
Sinead has bridged the gap between companies and staff, supporting large-scale names in social housing, rail, civil engineering and construction seeking females to grow their diversity as well as helping those “who want to get into that kind of work but don’t know how to get their foot in the door”.
“I suppose I’m the missing link and I am the woman who can be pushing this. I also go out to the site to make sure it’s equipped for females and I only work with businesses whose values align with mine,” she adds.
She Built It NI’s initial goal was to increase the number of females in construction, from a basic level and working upwards but today it has placed women in many senior roles including project managers and commercial managers.
Sinead attends industry events and networking opportunities to broaden her client base and it was through this activity that she secured staff for her new site in GB, with the location yet to be confirmed.
She adds: “If you look back four years ago it was really unheard of to see a woman on site, but after launching She Built It NI there are so many more, and I would say, hand on heart, I have helped push that long, I’m flying the flag and making enough noise.”
In addition to establishing a presence in GB, Sinead will expand her services beyond recruitment to include supporting students, as well as actively contributing to recognising female accomplishments in the construction industry through awards.
