Meet Jess Taylor - Women in Construction Week 2024

Meet our Parts Sales Advisor Jess Taylor! Jess started with us in January of 2023 and works within the parts department at our Alnwick depot.

1. Tell us about your role at Scot JCB and what a typical day looks like? 

I’m a Parts Sales Advisor so a typical day for me includes bringing in deliveries, allocating parts for the workshop’s relevant jobs, making hydraulic hoses for customers when they bring in broken ones, and obviously quoting/selling parts to customers. I also handle a lot of invoices and of course there is always some basic admin that needs done.   

2. Why did you want to work in the construction industry? 

Prior to working for Scot’s, I worked in hospitality and had various agricultural related jobs. I don’t come from a primarily Agri or construction background but have always had links to the industry and find it very interesting in the way it works, so when the opportunity to work for Scot JCB came around I took it, I wanted a change and to learn more about the industry. I also quite liked the idea of a challenge as I came into this role with no experience at all! 

3. How does it feel being a woman working in a historically male dominated industry?  

It definitely has its moments of being difficult and frustrating! Especially at the beginning, having no experience with the machines JCB produce it took a little while for customers to talk to me and let me help them find what they needed. Even a year on I still sometimes get referred to as the receptionist aha! But I like my job and I like that being a woman working in this industry challenges the norm and helps to prove that anyone can do any job that they want, regardless of gender. Being a woman in this industry means there will always be certain things we have to try a bit harder at to achieve, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it. I’d like to think that it can feel quite inspiring to be a woman working in male dominated space.  

4. What do you think businesses could do to attract more women into the industry?  

I would say offer experience. Experience in any industry will always be invaluable, that’s just a fact. But for women who have an interest in construction but might not have been lucky enough to come from that background or know people who are willing to take the time to help them learn it can be quite daunting applying for jobs in the industry. But if businesses were to look at past experience less and more at an individual’s eagerness and enthusiasm to learn and develop skills then more women would probably apply for jobs in construction. 

5. What advice would you give to women interested in a career in the construction industry? 

Give it a go, granted it may not be for everyone, but if you get the opportunity to work in construction then take it, you’ll never know until you try! You might love it, you might hate it, but at least you would be able to say you gave it a go and no one can fault you for trying something new regardless of what it is! There will always be challenges and people will always have their opinions, but if it’s something you want to do, do it!