A Norfolk woman is shaking up the construction industry by leading a push to increase the diversity on building sites.

Through her recruitment business, Core Recruiter, Kelly Cartwright is encouraging women to enter the sector.

Mrs Cartwright said that locally she sees very few women looking to work in construction.

Eastern Daily Press: Kelly Cartwright, owner of construction recruitment specialist Core RecruiterKelly Cartwright, owner of construction recruitment specialist Core Recruiter (Image: Core Recruiter)

"Nationwide females make up just 13pc of the industry's workforce," she said.

The 29-year-old added that firms are also keen on attracting more women into the workforce as it "opens up the talent" available.

She said: "People are very supportive of it.

"There is a push for making it more attractive for women to want to come into the industry."

Part of her campaign includes going into schools to speak to girls about the career opportunities available in construction.

She also spent a week on a building site to show that a woman could do the job.

Mrs Cartwright launched her business in 2016 when she was aged just 23.

She said that her success proves women can have a flourishing career in the sector.

Originally, the business owner had been planning a career in advertising and marketing but started working in recruitment as she wanted to earn a little bit of money.

Finding that it was something she really enjoyed, Mrs Cartwright decided to launch her own company as she found her "wings were clipped" working for someone else.

"My parents owned their own business so I've always been around owning a business," she said.

"I knew there is a lot of hard work involved in running your own company but at the time a lot of people were warning me about it.

"A lot of people said 'are you sure' and that it is a massive risk."

Confident it was the right move for her, Mrs Cartwright set Core Recruiter and "hasn't looked back since."

She now has five members of staff, about 500 clients and said that the "sense of reward in running the business is fantastic".

Her success, along with the drive to attract more women into the industry, has seen her shortlisted for the Unsung Hero Award - Eastern Region by the National Federation of Builders - Top 100 Influential Women in Construction Awards.