North Hertfordshire College has rolled out a series of fully-funded women-focused workshops that aim to provide local women with essential skills in male-centred trades.

The first course, an electrical class delivered in February, received fantastic feedback, and since then the college has run sessions on plumbing, home decorating and bricklaying for beginners. 

Professional trades such as plumbing and electrical work are often male-dominated industries, and currently only 4 per cent of students studying similar full-time courses at the college are female. 

Sam Sharpe, Head of Construction and Motor Vehicle at North Hertfordshire College, said: "We know the demand within the industry – the proportion between male and female is not great.

"So it is about developing those skills and giving the women the confidence to be able to say, actually, I can do this myself and I am capable of doing it." 

Lasting around three hours, the sessions are funded under the college's tailored learning banner, and give women an insight into possible future careers as well as developing skills they can use at home.

Each class has a maximum of 10 people, which Ms Sharpe says allows attendees to feel "comfortable and safe" as well as providing a "tailored experience". 

Leanne Baker, a participant in the first set of workshops, has already put the skills she's learnt to the test, fixing a leak in her toilet that she's had for the past two years. 

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A single mother, Ms Baker explained that she originally signed up for the lessons because she refuses to pay someone else for something that she can do herself. 

She said: "I just don't think there's enough opportunities out there for women to [learn these skills] and I think if you did want to take it further and go into these professions then there's a lot of people who would only want women in their house.

"I think [these courses] are brilliant and even better if you want to take it further as a career." 

The college hopes to introduce more lessons due to high demand, expanding into trades such as carpentry and motor vehicle maintenance. 

For more information on upcoming workshops and how to take part, visit North Hertfordshire College's website.