Register of Tradeswomen

Launched 1st March 2021

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When the Covid 19 pandemic forced the whole of UK into lockdown in March 2020 the country was stunned by the figures emerging of the rise in the abuse and killing of women in their homes, by partners they were ‘locked in’ with.

We immediately did what we could by pilotting a service to provide verified tradeswomen of all kinds to householders who felt they would prefer or feel safer with tradeswomen.

After a test-run and successful crowdfund to finance it’s start-up, this service launched officially in March 2021.

Featured on BBC’s This Morning, the phone rang off the hook and the website crashed because of the overwhelming demand from all kinds of householders!

A couple of days later we were up and running again with increased capacity, but what we quickly realised was that the demand for tradeswomen throughout UK far exceeds the supply.

By the summer of 2023 we could show that all over UK tradeswomen are rushed off their feet working longs days and unable to take on more work. Our data shows that demand is three times that of the supply of tradeswomen, with rural areas experiencing the biggest lack and London having a slightly better ratio of tradeswomen to meet the demand for them there. 

Many householders have told us they simply want to be able to find women in all trades. We’re also talking to organisations that support women survivors of domestic and other forms of abuse who have more and greater reasons to choose tradeswomen.

None of the schemes currently existing are changing the environment or increasing the numbers of tradeswomen available quickly enough to meet the demand of householders. We decided to tackle the issue in a completely different way. A way that fully aligns with our aim to support and empower women survivors of abuse.

Watch this space for our solution.

In the meantime we are delivering training in DIY to survivors of abuse in collaboration with women’s organisations around the country and continuing to provide plumbers and heating engineers through Stopcocks Women Plumbers.

Click here for the Register of Tradeswomen’s website