Women affiliated with Social Security in the construction sector in Spain during 2022 reached the figure of 147,337 workers, which means 7,711 more women than the previous year and already represents 11.1% of the total number of employees in the sector.
The figures do not lie. Last year women reached the highest percentage weight of construction workers since 2016. The explanation must be sought, in part, in entities and companies that, such as the Fundació Laboral de la Construcció or the Grup Efebé, organize training programs “to break the stigma and increase the number of women on the construction site”.
Yanet Rubiano and Nouria Ariara are two of the participants in a job placement program aimed at women at risk of social exclusion that seeks not only to offer them a job, but also to break the stigma of the male bricklayer
“I came from Colombia to improve my prospects,” says Yanet, 48, married with one child, who lives in l’Hospitalet de Llobregat. She refuses to talk about her past in South America, although she acknowledges having been through “very tough situations.” Now, participating for the second time in a course for women masons opens a new window to the future. “Here I learn a lot, Spain is much more technically advanced. I would like to be able to have my own painting and restoration finishing company”, explains Yanet.
A similar situation is that of Nouria Ariara, a 37-year-old Moroccan from Tangier with an eight-year-old girl in her care. Nouria rebels against the stigma of women forced to maintain jobs such as “sewing or ironing” and claims that “we can do any job”, for which a new future between paintings and plasterboard is being considered.
The ten students in this course, including two men, have just finished the first practical painting module at the Badalona facilities of the Fundació Laboral de la Construcció and have started the construction course. The training takes place from May to September and is divided into seven blocks. In them they learn auxiliary tasks in the work; manufacture pastes, mortars, adhesives and concrete; prepare equipment and means; adapt the supports for the coverings; Executing renders and trims and adapting painting works to the construction by applying protective primers.
Jaouadi Achabar, 34, is a Berber from Al Hoceima who arrived in Spain on a tourist visa. He is obliged to take the course to apply for a permit “that will allow me to work legally”, which is officially known as “arraigo by formation”. With the new knowledge acquired, plus “the work I already did with my father, who was a builder,” he hopes to carve out a future with guarantees in the country.
The students who take these courses “end up having the training of laborers”, explains Anna Fornt, general director of the Grup Efebé. They contact these initiatives that are developed in Badalona through entities of the third sector. “The selection is made from the Fundació Ared de Barcelona, ??which helps socially neglected people in their labor insertion. The complete training consists of three levels that, once passed, allow students to obtain the certificate of professional skills and enter a job bank that the foundation itself maintains. Completing the complete practical course also gives you the option to enter the first level of access to an intermediate level of professional training in the same specialties. Part of the success of the project is to achieve the return to the educational system of the participants, stresses Fornt.
From the Efebé Group, experts in design, adaptation, equipment and maintenance of spaces, especially schools and nursing homes, have already hired several “very well trained” women who have passed the course as a construction assistant. They explain that there is a lot of demand for professionals and that, in addition, in the construction sector salaries can be charged that “exceed 30% of the minimum interprofessional wage.”
Until now, 46.8% of the women hired in construction held an administrative role, hence the empowerment to access other jobs in the sector “is the key to not leaving out 50% of the talent of our population”, reasons the general director of the group.
Another hopeful fact is that 21% of the contracts of women in construction are permanent. “The effort that women have made to integrate into the construction sector is very important”, reveals Lucía López, manager of the Fundació Laboral de la Construcció.
And it is clear that the commitment and determination shown by women in the sector pay off. “If in 2017 they only accounted for 3% of jobs in construction, in 2023 they already represent 12%”, although he expects this percentage to increase much more with successful initiatives such as training programs.
