You see a lot about the need for more women in the building services engineering (BSE) sector, and rightly so. It’s estimated that less than 5% of plumbing and heating engineers are female, representing a rich untapped resource for a sector where crippling skills shortages are threatening the progress of net-zero.

Many of the big players in our industry are championing women in BSE, from Hattie Hassan MBE, founder of Stopcocks Women Plumbers and host of the annual Women Installers Together (WIT) event, to CIBSE, who created WiBSE, a panel set up to support and needs of women in the industry.

As the leading awards organisation for our sector, we have developed the LCL Awards Inclusivity Charter in consultation with Hattie, to ensure our training centres are welcoming places where everyone can thrive.

But inclusivity extends beyond gender diversity.

Our sector is facing a mammoth task. Currently, around 18% of UK carbon emissions come from domestic heating and we need to reduce this to net-zero over the next 25 years. If we do not embrace diversity and inclusion at its deepest level, I fear we will not meet our goal.

The opportunity is there – I’ve seen several studies recently that indicate our sector is already something of a ‘safe haven’ for those with a neurodiverse condition, including ADHD, dyslexia, and autism, among others. A white paper from On the Tools found that as many as 50% of tradespeople identify as neurodivergent, compared to 15-20% of the general population. Separate studies from National Federation of Builders (NFB), Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and People’s Partnership, and the Association for Project Management (APM), support the conclusion that there is a high neurodivergent population within the workforce.

These statistics are not surprising. Careers in building services value creativity, problem solving, and practical skills. Workers with a unique perspective can uncover innovative solutions to complex problems, while attention to detail drives progress and efficiency. Building services offer many people the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding their specialist interest, expertise that is highly valued by employers.

But these are the people who were often wildly undervalued at school. Dave Mcinnis, an experienced heating engineer and candidate of LCL Awards Inclusivity Charter training centre Logic4training, is a prime example. Dave has dyslexia, a condition that commonly affects reading and writing skills, but can also impact other areas, such as memory and organisational abilities. Dyslexic people are often creative and have strengths in areas such as reasoning.

Dave was labelled a ‘dunce’ at school, but has found great success in the trades. “It’s been really difficult over the years getting the support I need to learn and I’m not alone. I’m often treated as an idiot, which affects my confidence,” says Dave.

Providing simple support with written assessments, such as practice sessions and support with reading, makes all the difference. “It’s very reassuring to know that you’ll get the support you need during the assessment,” continues Dave. “[My tutors] read the questions for me when I couldn’t manage and checked what I’ve written for legibility, so I felt I was giving a decent account of myself.”

There are so many people out there who, like Dave, leave school feeling like a failure, but who go on to thrive personally and professionally in BSE. When they are finally doing something that interests them and suits their learning style, they realise they can build a lucrative and successful career, while making a valuable contribution to a key industry.

We need more women in engineering, but we also need more neurodiversity, more racial and ethnic minorities, more disability representation. Only when we have more people entering the sector with diverse viewpoints will our sector be able to achieve its potential for net-zero, inspiring creative and innovative solutions while allowing experienced engineers to upskill to fulfil roles in low-carbon technologies.

I feel deeply passionate about inclusivity due to my own experience of the devastating effects of racism and disability discrimination in my career and personal life. Witnessing firsthand the obstacles faced by me and my loved ones, and now working in a sector that is still so narrow in terms of demographics, I am driven to champion inclusivity and tackle the barriers that face so many aspiring building services engineers.

It is through our collective efforts towards inclusivity that we can build a resilient and skilled installer base, where everyone has an equitable chance to contribute their unique talent and perspective. Equality, diversity, and inclusion is so much more than a tick box exercise, it’s a strategic advantage.