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<\/p>\nCarpenter Astrid Arnold has \u00adbecome the first woman to be crowned Screwfix Top Tradesperson.<\/p>\n
And now she is hoping her win will inspire more females to get into construction. Astrid says: \u201cThis is not just about me and my company, it\u2019s so much bigger because this is the first time this prize has been awarded to a woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still in the minority but it will be a massive opportunity to attract more women into the trade. You\u2019ve got to see it to be able to be it. Women have so much to contribute. I think it\u2019s an amazing industry and I want people to be proud of working in construction.\u201d<\/p>\n
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As well as the coveted title, Astrid also scooped a \u00a320,000 prize of tools, tech and training. She adds: \u201cI\u2019m so excited about the possibilities this brings. It will definitely help with the growth of my company.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 48-year-old, who runs TouchWood South West, impressed the judges with her technical and stunning work, as well as her passion for supporting women to develop trade skills. Currently, she runs courses teaching women DIY skills while since 2019 she has worked with the local probation service on her Women Build! programme.<\/p>\n
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Astrid, of Newton Abbot in Devon, says: \u201cWe support women who are unemployed or on probation by teaching carpentry skills to help boost their self-esteem and confidence and get them back into work or education. We also run short courses of two or three days for women where we teach carpentry skills and DIY \u2013 so plumbing, electrics, painting and tiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get a lot of women who just want to be able to do things for themselves at home and not feel they have to wait for someone else to sort out the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of Astrid\u2019s students have even gone on to pursue construction further. She says: \u201cLast year I managed to get three of my students into the local college for a carpentry course. And last month, I had one start at the boat building academy in Lyme Regis to do the furniture-making course.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOne started the site carpentry course at the local college while another former student is employed by a large bench-joinery company in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
If that\u2019s not enough, Astrid and her team of tradeswomen have also been teaching practical skills such as woodwork to local school children for the past three years. And she believes there should be more importance placed on teaching this to young people.<\/p>\n
She adds: \u201cIt\u2019s not taught in school and at the moment it isn\u2019t even on the agenda to incorporate more practical skills into the curriculum. I\u2019m hoping at some point the government will wake up to the skills shortage and see they have to start this early.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Astrid, who was born in Germany but has spent more than 25 years in the UK, always loved making things as a child. But she says: \u201cWhen I was growing up, this was not a viable career choice for me because I didn\u2019t see any women working as carpenters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took me to my early 20s when I bought a van and decided I wanted to build a bed and cupboards in it but had absolutely no idea how to do that. So I enrolled into a college course and did a site carpentry and joinery NVQ Level 2. I loved it so much I haven\u2019t stopped since.\u201d<\/p>\n
The champ also wowed the judges with her professional ability, shown in a garden studio which she and her team built from scratch. She says: \u201cI designed it using CAD and then we built the entire thing, including the foundations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s one of the projects I\u2019m particularly proud of because it involved a few more skills than just carpentry. The judges commended my skill with difficult materials, the attention to detail and high standard of work.\u201d<\/p>\n