Adrian Chiles is right: scaffolding is hard work (Britain’s scaffolding should be a source of national pride – instead we’re struggling to recruit workers, 1 October). It demands physical resilience, skill, judgment and proper training. That will naturally mean it is not a job for everyone – men or women.
Which is why the conversation about the skills shortage should be less about who traditionally became a scaffolder, and more about who is willing and able to learn the trade and meet the same standards.
As the industry is already facing the significant shortfall that Chiles describes, we need to widen the pool of people who can see scaffolding as a genuine career.
That includes women, but the bigger issue is attracting capable people into the trade, training them properly and keeping standards high. That is part of what the Women in Scaffolding Association (WiSA) is trying to do.
We support women already working on the tools, make them visible and connected, and show women and girls that scaffolding is a genuine skilled career. We also work to bring more people into construction generally.
Nobody is suggesting lowering the bar. Scaffolding requires strength, but also technique, teamwork, training and considerable skill. The standards should remain the standards.
Chiles also makes an important point about AI. Scaffolding is practical, skilled work that cannot simply be automated away. Britain still needs people who can build, solve problems and work safely with their hands. If scaffolders are becoming a dying breed, perhaps the answer is to look more widely for the next generation. Some of them will be women.
Emma Claassen
Founder, WiSA
