At the end of May 2026, something a little unusual happened in Sligo, Ireland. Twenty-one educators, trainers and sector advocates: from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania and Montenegro, gathered for six days to learn together, challenge each other’s assumptions, and commit to building a more inclusive construction sector back home.
This was the WEC project’s Learning, Teaching and Training Activity (LTTA): a key milestone in the Erasmus+-funded Women Empowered in Construction project, and one of the most intensive peer-learning experiences any of the participants had taken part in.
The programme wasn’t designed to lecture participants on why gender equality matters in construction – they already knew. Instead, the six days were structured around a journey: from deepening understanding of the barriers women face, all the way through to hands-on experiential learning, digital technology exploration and concrete personal commitments to act differently back home.
Each day built on the last. Day one set the scene with an honest look at workforce realities across Europe, including a remarkable guest interview with Joanne White, founder of Women in Construction Ireland (WICI), who shared her journey from the construction site to the lecture theatre, and the ecosystem of mentoring and support she went on to build.
Day two went deeper into the lived realities of women working in construction: through scenario-based learning that challenged participants to recognise bias when they saw it, and a powerful “Now and How It Could Be” mapping activity that asked: what does inclusion look like in practice, and how do we get there?
Day three was the one that surprised most people. The group took on an escape room challenge and an “Island Challenge”. Not because puzzles and games are fun (though they are), but because these activities brought leadership, communication, problem-solving and negotiation to life in ways that a workshop presentation simply can’t. Participants consistently reported this as one of the most impactful days of the week.
“Stereotypical roles of women in construction exist right across Europe… Role models create the new ways for women to enter and succeed in construction”.
— WEC LTTA participant (anonymised)
Days four and five turned participants’ attention to where construction is heading. Drones. Reality capture. Building Information Modelling. Digital twins. VR and AR technologies. Modern methods of construction. The sessions challenged the assumption, still surprisingly common, that construction is a sector stuck in the past.
It isn’t. And for educators and trainers working with the next generation of construction students, understanding that shift matters enormously. These technologies don’t just change how buildings are built – they open up entirely new career pathways that are accessible to anyone willing to learn, regardless of physical strength or prior experience on site.
Entrepreneurship featured strongly on Day 5 was delivered through a practical “Four Pillars” framework covering offer, finances, risk and support. Participants mapped the entrepreneurship landscape in their own countries and heard from a speaker sharing a twenty-year journey building a construction business from the ground up.
Day six brought everything together. Participants mapped construction realities across their seven countries, reflected on the full week, and — crucially — made public commitments about how they would implement what they had learned. These weren’t vague pledges. They were specific, personal and professional:
Start a mentoring programme
Partner with construction employers
Introduce inclusive teaching methods
Present WEC tools to colleagues
“Each day was different, interesting, and educational, making the whole experience both njoyable and valuable!”
LTTA participant (anonymised)
The LTTA also served as a curriculum validation exercise for the WEC project. Participant feedback confirmed that the four curriculum modules, covering gender equality and culture, leadership and communication, health and safety, and innovation, are relevant, well-structured and ready to inform the online learning resources currently in development.
The strongest message from the evaluation? Experiential learning works. Activities that put people in real situations, even simulated ones, generated far deeper engagement and longer-lasting change than presentations alone. That insight will shape everything WEC creates next.
“I’d highly recommend this training course in terms of understanding the experiences of women in the construction industry and how we could all help more females join the sector.”
— WEC LTTA participant (anonymised)
The WEC project continues to develop its online learning platform, which will make the curriculum modules accessible to educators, trainers and VET providers across Europe. Watch this space, and if your organisation would like to get involved, reach out through the Contact page on women-in-construction.eu.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
