Nicole Carlin from Cruden Building & Renewals Ltd explains why she loves her job working on-site across many building developments in the west of Scotland . Whilst many of her friends were going to work in beauty or social care industries, Nicole decided she wanted to become a builder and in particular a bricklayer, was where she found her niche.
Nicole said: “There definitely are not many women that become bricklayers, but it is such an enjoyable job which I now love and have settled into really well. When I first came on to site, everyone was very welcoming and I haven’t been treated any differently because I’m a woman, it is a very fair environment where everyone is treated equally. When I was at school, most of my friends were going into beauty or social care, but none of that was for me as I knew I wanted to do something more challenging and maybe a little bit more diverse.
I took an 18-week course in construction, where I got to try my hand at joinery, bricklaying and plumbing and decided that I enjoyed bricklaying most so took another course before applying for an apprenticeship at Cruden.
It’s a really great career and it doesn’t have to be ‘tools’ for the rest of your life. There is a career progression, I could go into lecturing or other associated learning which I am looking forward to exploring at some point.
It’s obviously quite a physical job but you get used to it, I was lucky to get a good squad to teach me. People still get quite a surprise when I tell them I’m a Brickie. I still like to go out on weekends and do my hair and make-up – it’s just a job. It has given me a wee bit of independence to do something a bit different. I am really proud of my achievements to date and I hope it would perhaps inspire others to consider working in construction.
I could be working in the beauty industry and be painting someone’s face and then they wash it all off afterwards. If I’m building a wall, I’m creating something that is much more permanent which gives me a huge amount of satisfaction.’
Image: Nicole Carlin from Cruden Building & Renewals Ltd
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