Victoria Brocklesby, COO at Origin, explains her progression to where she is today and why it is important for women in the construction industry and manufacturing to play their part.
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‘… Despite being one of the only women I knew working in construction when we started, I loved the buzz …’
Pbctoday writes:
New research from the Women in Construction Summit reveals that only 11% of jobs in the construction industry are held by women.
From establishing Origin in 2002, Victoria has played an integral part in turning the company into the leading manufacturer it is today….
The birth of Origin
Having studied Physics and Space Science in Southampton, I could never have thought that I would immediately move into a role in manufacturing…
Working in construction
I started out as the bookkeeper and sales manager, but that didn’t stop me being hands on with the products. There were so few of us in the beginning that I was always ready to help make the doors or unload a lorry. From there, I saw a real opportunity to grow our operations and established an accounts department from scratch to cope with demand. I did the same with HR, recruitment, and business operations and this allowed Origin to grow from strength to strength.
I went from admin manager to COO quickly as the company became of the UK’s biggest aluminium door manufacturers and now has a turnover of over £39 million, delivering around the world and employing hundreds of members of staff. But at the core of Origin will always be family and we will never let those standards drop.
If someone had told me I’d be where I am today, I’d have been very nervous to take that challenge on, but we have consistently made decisions to protect the growth of the business….
Greater diversity
I am so lucky to be able to say that being a female has never hindered my opportunities in life, but I am aware that this is not the case for everybody….
Despite being one of the only women I knew working in construction when we started, I loved the buzz …. It is fiction that women can’t do the same roles as men, and therefore they can’t make the same money as men. The diverse leadership team at Origin shows how confident we are in the abilities of every member of our staff and we will continue to be part of the push for more women in construction.
From senior roles to skilled tradespersons, there is more demand than ever for women to be part of the construction sector and we will continue to be at the forefront of this….
