Glasgow Trades Collective: Constructing Change in the Trades Industry
Glasgow Trades Collective provides accessible training in construction trades, empowering women, non-binary people, and marginalised communities with the skills, confidence, and opportunities to build a career in the industry.
Building a diverse trades workforce
Glasgow Trades Collective is a social enterprise that provides accessible training for people facing barriers to entering construction. Through affordable courses in joinery, carpentry, plastering, tiling and decorating, they help participants build the confidence and skills needed for careers in the trades. The collective is made up mostly of tradespeople who want the industry to better reflect Glasgow’s diversity.
Director Angela Ireland believes a more diverse construction workforce is essential for addressing social challenges such as unemployment, homelessness, and isolation. The collective supports people often excluded from construction due to discrimination based on race, gender, migration status, or economic background.
Since launching in June 2024, they have delivered paid courses and workshops particularly for women and non-binary people and have steadily expanded and refined their offer. In their first year, over 260 women and non-binary participants completed their training.
Becoming a social enterprise enabled Glasgow Trades Collective to be financially independent through paid classes and trade jobs while advancing their mission to diversify the construction industry and connect trained participants with employment opportunities.
Meet the Founder
Angela’s background is in community work. She was introduced to the Glasgow Trades Collective because she needed a renovation for another project she was working on. Angela felt they were amazing. They used their network of female and non-binary tradespeople to complete the work and facilitated a couple of community build days to give people who had done their courses experience on a real job site.
Angela said:
“I was blown away by the work they were doing. Their enthusiasm was infectious, so I offered my experience to the project and joined as a director the next month.”
How Firstport supported Glasgow Trades Collective
The collective received Build It funding from us, following initial start-up support from Business Advisor Brian McMillan, who helped them focus on their financial projections. Relationship Manager Karen Fitzsimmons assisted in preparing their funding pitch.
Build It has allowed them to pay staff wages and focus on growing the Community Interest Company (CIC), rather than simply being tied up in day-to-day operations. Angela advises anyone considering Firstport support:
“Absolutely do it. The holistic support, alongside the financial backing, puts you in a much stronger position by the end of the process.”
What’s next for Glasgow Trades Collective?
Glasgow Trades Collective have big plans. They are already looking to expand and get a bigger space to host more workshops and courses. They have begun to take on more building jobs and aim to partner with larger construction companies to promote diversity and start reshaping the culture of the industry from within.
Follow the latest updates from Glasgow Trades Collective on their website and on Instagram.
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