Teenager is a woman in a man’s world working her way to the top in memory of her two uncles

She’s a woman in a man’s world .. and Kaira Hazelton is aiming high.

The 19-year-old, (pictured above) who lives in Stanton, is a trainee civil engineer, working at the Sizewell C development on the Suffolk coast.

She’s part way through her training programme and is just one of a few women working in the engineering and construction industry and is hoping to inspire other young women and girls to join the profession.

The inspiration for her career came from her father Matthew who lost his two brothers Thomas and Daniel in an industrial accident in Great Yarmouth back in January, 2011. They died along with two close friends Peter Johnson and Adam Taylor after a steel cage collapsed onto them. He was co-director of one of the firms operating on the site.

And now Kaira, who has no memory of the incident as she was just four years old at the time, is hoping to tread in his footsteps and rise to the top to become a director of a construction company.

Her passion for the industry comes at a time as figures reveal that women make up 15 per cent of the UK’s construction workforce and recruiting more females into the profession could help alleviate the country’s construction skills shortage and encourage them to work on sites.

Kaira, who is employed by civil engineering company Breheny, said: “I always wanted to do construction after what happened to my uncles. I wanted to do it in memory of them.

“I’ve always loved construction and when I was young dad took me out on diggers and I was on site helping him with work but when I was old enough to know and understand what happened to both my uncles my mind was made up.

“I love my job it’s the best decision that I have ever made. I’ve never had a bad experience and most people like women in construction, as soon as you’ve joined they are inspired by it, especially if you’re young, they love it.

“Construction isn’t always seen as an obvious career route for women however for women considering going into the industry do it. I couldn’t recommend it enough.”

She is currently carrying out a one day a week Higher National Certificate course at West Suffolk College/University while her work at Sizewell, which is based on the infrastructure around the site, includes keeping staff attendance records, daily site diary of scheduled work and what is completed in the day, Health & Safety inspections, risk assessments and shadowing foremen on the site.

The teenager said that a T-level course at the college helped her get into the industry.

“It shaped my route into construction because the course has so many career outcomes which made it great as you learn a different aspect of everything.

“While I am working on the Sizewell project I have learnt many different things. 

“It’s a great experience to have taken part in a major national development at such a young age and I’ve gained a lot of knowledge being on site.

“I think T-levels can bring more people into the sector as it opens a variety of career routes and paths and it isn’t focused on just one area. 

“It also allows you to experience the industry while on work placement, so you get a feel on how the construction industry is and practice what career path you’re wanting to pursue.”

The confident teenager continued: “I would definitely love to see more women in the industry as construction is typically known to be a male industry so it would be great to see more women get involved in construction.

“My message to young people is definitely study construction, especially a T-Level as it offers practical, hands-on routes which down the line employers look for, as if you’ve got the knowledge and some experience it makes you stand out a little more.”

And of the future Kaira says: “I just want to work my way up and try and reach the top and be a director of a company.”