Only one per cent of the workforce in the practical side of construction are women, so Gloucester Citizen writer Aisling McVeigh took part in a Women in Construction training day laid on by the Construction Industry Training Board.

When the details of this job came through, my news editor had me earmarked from the beginning.

“It’s a story about Women in Construction,” he said. “You will be getting your hands dirty and having a go at plastering. So make sure you take appropriate clothes.”

Appropriate clothes? Cue a weekend of wardrobe panic. What does a girl wear on a building site?

Remembering that the closest things I owned to a pair of work boots, were leather kitten-heeled knee-high ones, I started to think this might not be such a good idea.

But I was sent off with the words: “Good luck! Break a nail!” ringing in my ears.

So on Monday morning I arrived, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.

Malcolm White, my plastering instructor, gave me a hard hat, that mercifully toned in with the rest of my outfit.

But then it was on to the real work. And it was hard to begin with. Not hard to actually do, but difficult to master the techniques to make my plastering and bricklaying look semi-professional, and not like the work of a child who has been let loose with Lego and Playdough.

The work was a lot more creative than I thought, and technical, as it was all about lining things up properly and making them look neat. Although I didn’t spend too long at it, it is physically demanding, and any woman who is thinking of doing it should be reasonably fit.

But it felt very liberating to be working outside for a change and I had a real sense of pride when I saw the finished walls.

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