Mom swaps her glamorous sales job to become a builder in her 50s

By Cameron Henderson via SWNS

This mom swapped her "glamorous" sales job to become a builder in her 50s - as one of just TWO female apprentices.

Lynn Johnson, 54, spent 30 years as a housing sales advisor, and was usually surrounded by other women in "heels and lipstick."

But when her son entered his teens, she quit her job selling houses to start building them.

Lynn became an apprentice builder and said "swapping my heels and lipstick for work boots and high-vis was the best decision I ever made."

Out on site at 7 am on a freezing cold morning, lugging waste to a skip, and setting out foundations, she said she loves seeing her work come together.

She admits she occasionally has to "lay down the law" to male colleagues if their work isn't up to scratch, but one day she hopes to set up a construction business with her son, now 13.

Single mom Lynn is currently training for a Level 4 construction site supervisor apprenticeship with the National House Building Council (NHBC).

She is one of only two female apprentices on the scheme, out of more than 340 trainees.

Lynn, from Ormskirk, UK, said: "I'd been selling houses from the age of 21 and I wanted a change.

"I was always interested in construction, and when my son grew older, he didn't need me around so much, so I decided to make the switch.

"I wanted a challenge - and I’ve certainly set myself one."

In November 2021, Lynn quit her housing sales job.

The training scheme is 18 months long, meaning Lynn will be fully qualified in May 2023.

Although she took a pay cut when she became a trainee, she sees financial gain in the future: "Once I'm qualified, I'm hoping to earn about £20,000 ($25,000 USD) a year more than I would have in sales."

And while her sales job salary was commission based, working as a site supervisor provides a regular income which is "really important for keeping a roof over our heads," she said.

She is currently working on a construction site in Preston, Lancashire for the housebuilder Persimmon Homes, her employer, and she can count the number of women she has worked with "on one hand."

Once she is qualified, Lynn would love to build her own home as well as a dog shelter, because she loves animals.

The job can be physical at times, involving carrying heavy barriers and lugging waste building materials to the skip, but Lynn enjoys a "hard day's work" and says the sense of achievement "makes you feel alive."

Comparing her job in sales to her current role, she said: "There were a lot of women in the office - it was very glamourous. Now I'm on-site at 7 am, frozen solid. It's hard work, but it’s rewarding.

"Seeing a building site go from a foundation to a whole row of houses with actual families moving in gives you a lot of satisfaction - it brings communities together."

Lynn says it has been a challenging time to work in such a "male-dominated" environment.

"I could count the number of women I’ve worked with on one hand," she said.

"People look at me with surprise because it’s not the norm to have a female site manager.

"Not only am I a woman, but I've also switched jobs at this age to take up a trainee role, so I had a lot to deal with.

"At first, I was worried about not knowing what I was doing and not being taken seriously.

"But I just kept asking questions, and the more knowledge you digest, the more people respect your input.

"I have to lay down the law every now and then if the standard of work isn't up to scratch, but I get on well with all the lads and have a really great team."

Despite occasional heavy lifting, Lynn says the skills required to be a site manager are more transferrable than one might think.

"Organization and management skills are just as important to running a site as they are in sales," she said.

"I've also got a keen eye for what the customer is looking for in a new home - especially when it comes to finishing touches. This has certainly carried over from my old job.

"My son's coming up to choosing his GCSE options, and I'm encouraging him to apprentice in a trade, either as a joiner or as an electrician.

"It would be great to have a mother and son company one day. He's very proud and wants to follow in my footsteps.

"I think more women should work in construction. Not just as site managers, but as electricians, bricklayers and plumbers.

"It’s never too late to start an apprenticeship in construction, I’m 55 in April.

"Times are changing. It's becoming more normal to see women working on building sites, and we have so much to contribute."