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Fri March 29 2024

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James Wates joins Young Women’s Trust

4 Oct 17 Wates Group chairman James Wates has agreed to be the Young Women’s Trust’s first ambassador.

James Wates
James Wates

The Young Women’s Trust is a charity that seeks to help women aged 16 to 30 who are on low or no pay. James Wates has committed to work with the charity to address barriers women face to entering male-dominated industries, including construction.

A particular cause for the charity is making apprenticeships work as well for girls as for boys. James Wates said: “The Young Women’s Trust does tremendous work, and I am very pleased to be supporting it as its first ambassador. In the construction industry, we are experiencing significant skills shortages, and one of the reasons for this is our collective failure to recruit and retain women.

“The nature of jobs in construction – as in many sectors – is changing, with digitalisation and more off-site work bringing new opportunities to recruit a more diverse and innovative workforce. I’m excited to be working with Young Women’s Trust to address the underrepresentation of women in construction and many other sectors, which is not just the right thing to do, but also in our economic best interests.”

Young Women’s Trust chief executive Carole Easton said: "Young Women's Trust is excited to be working with our new charity ambassador James Wates to look at how businesses can improve the gender balance in their workforces.”

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