By Justin Parkinson BBC News Online education staff

Clair Williams is one of very few female electricians

Builders, plumbers, designers, there are never enough. This lack of training is costing the economy billions of pounds each year.

So it makes little sense to discourage women from learning any of the most vital trades.

But this is exactly what is happening among electricians, where only one in every 600 apprentices is female.

Presented badly

When Clair Williams, 29, was about to leave school she was advised by her parents to become a hairdresser. It was of little consequence that she wanted to become a building-site electrician.

Unlike most women in the same position, Clair, from Nottingham, persisted and now designs circuits for large factories.

She said: "Being an electrician is not something that appeals to girls at school because it's not presented in the right way.

"We are pushed into certain areas when we make our career choice and even before that, when we choose our options at GCSE.

"I've never been approached by anyone asking me to talk to girls at school."

Clair added: "There's a shortage of decent electricians and plumbers. Part of the reason must be the tendency to push women away from this sort of career choice.

Not heavy

"So, these days, we tend to take on some people without the right qualifications or aptitudes to become electricians.

"There are a lot of women who have the potential but aren't applying for a job that would really suit them.

"The work doesn't necessarily have to be heavy or industrial. There are lots of sides to the job, such as testing or inspecting.

"I'm really glad I did it. It's an enjoyable and interesting career and more women should be doing it."

After her GCSEs, Clair started an apprenticeship. The three-year course involved working for companies for six weeks at a time, in between classroom-based learning.

She said: "There were 30 people on the course and only three of us were girls. Neither of the other two finished.

"It's like everything, you get good and bad. Some of the firms were quite happy to take on women, while others thought it would mean taking a job from a good man."

After 10 years at work, Clair still feels a lack of role models is stopping more women from becoming electricians.

No change

"It's sad, because it's not a sexist working environment. The boys will be boys, but over time they get used to you and accept you.

"I don't feel the overall situation has changed. I have never seen another woman working in any other trade on a building site in 10 years.

"I would like to see it but I haven't. Until we get more women on the site, it won't change."

The training group JTL has started an electricians' scheme in Sheffield aimed at women aged 25 and over, and another for teenage girls in London.

Denis Hird, head of education and training at the Electrical Contractors' Association, said: "With women now regularly working their way to the top of the financial, banking and commercial sectors, it's a sad state of affairs that only one in almost 600 apprentices recruited to the electrical trade is female.

"The few women we do have in the electrical industry have clearly proved themselves equal to their male counterparts, but perceptions need to change to encourage more girls to enter the trade at apprentice level."

"Young women need to be shown the benefits of a well-paid job and a rewarding career.