The natural choice for urban greening
Little did Vasiliki Syngouna – Vaso to her friends and colleagues – know when she was studying Agriculture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, to what heights her career would take her when she came to the UK. Who better to chat to for our second profile for Women in Construction Week?
When she moved to the UK in 2019, Vaso started searching for a job as a gardener/landscaper to put her love for plants and green space to good use. She did a few temporary horticultural jobs, but it wasn’t until she joined Pritchard & Pritchard, the UK’s leading independent living roof and wall specialist that she was able to take her career to a new level… literally and physically!
P&P caught up with Vaso as she was giving a spring trim and tidy to one of our city client’s roofs its, located high above New Street Square, in the City of London. She was working with her friend and colleague Viktoria Tsvetanova, who is also originally from Greece. Being Women in Construction Week we were keen to know about her motivations to work in the industry and her thoughts on encouraging more women to work in landscaping and construction.
To mark Women in Construction Week, #WomeninConstructionWeek (March 7-13), Pritchard & Prichard is profiling some of women that make P&P excellent and diverse company. Also see the profile of P&P’s owner, Charlotte Pritchard the UK’s only female owner of a living roof & living wall business.
Q. So Vaso, why did you want to work with green roofs and living walls?
I wanted to contribute to making the city greener and I think that green walls and green roofs are some clever ways to do that. Also I wanted to learn new systems. I find this job very interesting and rewarding.
Q. Did you have experience in construction before?
I did not really have any professional experience. The only experience I had in landscaping was from participating in a voluntary team in university where we did some work in the department’s farm and helping out friends and family with their gardens. I have trained during my work here.
Q. Do you have any qualifications or training that help you with your role?
For my degree, I studied Agriculture at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. This gave me very good plant knowledge and the ability to better understand landscaping systems and techniques. To be able to work on roofs on site you also need to pass a specialist Health & Safety Working at Height and Harness Safety courses and tests.
Q. What are the best things about green roofs and living walls?
Making the city greener and prettier, as well as contributing to a much better air quality which plants provide. Working with a great team is also a big plus.
Q. What do you do in your typical work day?
First I meet with the team. Then we go through the health and safety procedures, depending on the job, for example the induction at a new site, signing in, putting on the PPE). After that we assess the work that needs to be done and when everything is ready we start working.
Q. Does it ever concern you that there are generally more men than women working in construction?
Yes it does. I understand that many women do not want to or are not able to undertake some physical tasks, such as carrying heavy materials, but there is so much more in construction. For example, even though most electricians are men, I am sure that many women could do this job just as well. When it comes to my job, if I can do it, any other woman who shares my passion for it can also do it.
Q. How do we change this?
We have to understand that the notion that certain jobs are more suitable for certain genders is baseless and outdated. There are many ways to attract more women in the construction field. For example, we can create ads and share our stories on social media. Also, schools can inform their students about this while they provide them professional guidance.
Q. How would you persuade a young woman that a job in landscape construction is a great opportunity?
I would just tell her how much fun I have and reassure her that there is no chance of her being too overwhelmed about it.
Pritchard & Pritchard is an equal opportunities employer and very proud of our diverse workforce. We welcome applications from all to work for our living roof, living walls and landscaping businesses from everyone. The only criteria is that you are passionate about urban greening and bring a great attitude and team spirit to the Pritchard & Pritchard family.
As the UK’s only female owned living wall and roof business in the UK – P&P is passionate about attracting more young women into construction. If you are interested in working in the design, installation or maintenance of living walls, living roofs, rooftop gardens or landscaped podiums, including traineeships, and would like to chat to Charlotte or one of the other female members of P&P, please contact us.
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