Advanced offshore scaffolder Vicky Welch is preparing to launch a new podcast sharing the experiences of women working in scaffolding.
ScaffoldHers Podcast is due to launch next week and will bring together women from across the UK trade to talk about life on the tools, career routes, site culture and the realities of working in one of construction’s most male-dominated occupations.
Welch, who has worked on the tools for 17 years, said she has often been told: “You’re the first female scaffolder I’ve ever met.”
She said women make up less than 1% of the scaffolding industry, adding that although numbers remain low, there are now more women in the trade than there were years ago.
The podcast will feature informal conversations between women scaffolders, with Welch saying the group will “chatter and natter, rant and rave, banter and bicker” while sharing what the job has really been like.
According to Welch, the aim is to give women already working in scaffolding a space to be heard, while helping others understand the challenges, successes and everyday experiences that come with working on the tools.
The podcast will also look at how the industry can better understand mixed-gender teams as more women enter the trade.
Welch said ScaffoldHers is about honest conversations that can help shape the future of scaffolding for everyone entering the industry, including men.
“It’s about having honest conversations that can positively shape the future of the industry for everyone coming into it,” she said. “And yes, that means the men too.”
The launch comes as construction continues to face long-running questions over how it attracts and keeps more women in site-based roles.
Women remain under-represented across manual construction trades, with scaffolding still among the least visible routes for women entering the sector.
Welch has become a recognised figure in the trade. In 2020, Simian Risk Group reported that she had completed her CISRS Advanced Scaffolding course and described her as the UK’s first female Advanced Scaffolder.
ScaffoldHers Podcast is expected to release its first episode next week.
