People need to discover the full spectrum of construction roles, believes Claire
Women in Construction
In the fourth of our series of articles that look at Women in Construction, we talk to Development Manager Claire Porteus, who believes that all construction jobs, not just tools on site, should be promoted as great careers.
Construction is built up of many sectors, and Claire believes everyone, especially young people, should be made aware of what’s on offer with jobs including health and safety, commercial, sales, technical, design and innovation, land, and marketing.
Today, she works as a Development Manager within the Technical team, overseeing the entire process of new residential developments, from initial planning to completion. She acts as a central point of contact, managing budgets, timelines, and stakeholder relationships.
Claire was drawn towards a career in housebuilding because she wanted to see the process through from design to product. She passionately wanted to specialise in something that allowed her to follow a design career but also see something physical at the end. However, she admits there was no guidance from school, and she saw her first opportunity in a newspaper advert.
After leaving school, she put herself through night school studying autocad and went on to be a trainee architectural technician doing day release at college. She completed a national diploma HND and then a degree. She later completed a construction management course with the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and went on to gain membership.
Claire joined Tilia Homes in 2006 and returned in 2024.
Have you encountered any challenges along the way?
At the start of my career, the industry was predominantly male. It didn’t worry me or give me any areas of concern, it was my passion. Sometimes you get a look of ‘do you know what you’re talking about as a woman?’. However, when you show you do, they soften quickly. I do feel there is an unconscious bias and a visible difference compared with the treatment of men.
However, while this was very different at the start of my career, we are now seeing more women in the industry, and it is becoming more recognised as normality.
Anything the industry needs to change?
Today, we don’t get the younger generation coming through, neither male nor female. It may be because they don’t want to work on site and be out in the elements. There seems to be a focus on construction trade apprenticeships, but very little for the other roles: architecture, design, project management, quantity surveying, buying and land acquisition.
Schools don’t advertise this sector, but people can benefit from workplace training and learn whilst earning.
Flexibility is also needed. I came back to work for Tilia Homes after having children as I was offered a more flexible part-time contract. People shouldn’t have to decide whether to put their family or career first – the industry needs to enable people to focus on both.
Do you have a role model who inspired you in your career?
A development manager who believed that I could be whoever I wanted to be, as long as I was willing to put the time in and listen to others. This industry can only thrive by developing others and making sure people can develop to where they want to be.
I believe women are still underrepresented in the industry because there is not enough awareness of the careers that are available.