Faye is a Director within the Construction Advisory practice of J.S. Held and is a highly experienced Chartered Quantity Surveyor with 30 years of experience in the construction industry. Faye has significant knowledge of the construction process from the first 20 years of her career working for various contractors as a quantity surveyor and commercial manager running large and varied teams on multimillion-pound projects from inception to completion. Having made it to a senior position of director and despite the multiple challenges she has faced along the way; she is still working in and promoting the construction industry and is vocal about opportunities for men and women alike plus other marginalised groups and continues to be a passionate advocate for change. She goes into schools and talks about the industry and the opportunities encouraging the next generations to enter the industry. Faye’s is currently writing a book about her experiences working in the construction industry over the last 30 years. While she recognises things have changed, she recognises the pace is glacial and draws on her own experience alongside multiple interviews and primary research conducted by way of surveys and interviews to gain the perspectives of other women and men working in the industry to identify real areas where change can be made. Her ultimate aim is to make the construction industry a fairer, more equitable industry for everyone to work in, regardless of gender, race or any other point of difference.

Statement:

Construction is suffering from a huge skills shortage. The industry is all about creation and innovation but without the people to design or build the projects it is nothing. Diverse teams are more creative, more productive and happier so encouraging diversity in the construction industry is a win for everyone and we all need to push for this to happen.