- I felt unfulfilled, until I took the spade in his hand

On a daily basis Samanda Brændholt Larsen any garden soil under the nails. Her everyday life is versatile, and how she one day runs caterpillars to dig out the tube and gas pipelines, build the she foundation the other and lay the tiles as the top of the cake on the third day.

- I am the first woman in my school who go to svendeprøve as anlægsstruktør, and of course it is fun, but it also puts a certain pressure to succeed on me. I would like to show that I can be just as much as my male peers - even if I am a woman, says Samanda Brændholt Larsen from Copenhagen.

Actually it is a childhood dream that come true for the 31-year-old anlægsstruktørlærling, when she march get svendebrevet in the hand.

But the road thither has not exactly been equal.

- My father is kloakmester, and I was often with him at work. Therefore, it was also my plan already in elementary school, that I would like to do something similar, she says. But it was not to be. Next to the high school she worked for her father, but the work environment was not something for a 16-year-old girl, says Samanda Brændholdt Larsen.

- It was particularly the customers, who questioned my ability, so I had to constantly prove that I was clever enough. In addition, the jargon in the skurvognen and værkstedshumoren also too much, she says.

Why did she, as many other girls: she began to read at the university, and after many years with my nose in the books, she got a bachelor's degree in the study of religion.

But there was something very wrong.

- So I could become a teacher, but it told me nothing. I had a turmoil inside, I couldn't get rid of, she says, and continues:

- I had a small garden at the time, and to consentrate I would dig out to a bed. I felt unfulfilled, until I took the spade in his hand.

When I was finished, I had seven blisters in each hand, but I was happy. And then I went right in and called to the Technical School, and the rest is history, says Samanda Brændholt Larsen.

On march she graduated anlægsstruktør, and even though she almost only got grades in the high end of the scale, so she gets sweaty palms at the thought of the exam.

- I'm actually more nervous than when I had to go to the final exam at the university, because here it is, in actual fact, I've always wanted to, says Samanda Brændholt Larsen.

--------- SPLIT ELEMENT ---------

the Boys will be most surprised

Picture: Shutterstock.com

How does a paver, a joiner or a anlægsstruktør out? Too many will probably answer that it is at least a man.

But it does need it just not to be, and the performance will Boss Ladies' big ambassadørkorps of women artisans to move on, when they go out in public and vocational schools throughout the country.

will stimulate girls and young women's interest in order to search the building, construction and installationsbrancherne.

will strengthen the professional pride of the young women and help women to achieve good teaching practice and to the well-being be increased in vocational education and training and branchernes companies.

Behind the Boss Ladies is the non-profit organisation Divérs.

the Project is supported by the Nordea-fonden, Grundejernes investment Fund, Build and Anlægsbranchens education fund and the STARK Foundation.

the Danish Construction association, 3F, Dansk El-forbund, TEKNIQ, tin plate and Pipe, Malerforbundet, Danish Restaurants and KL are the partners of the project.

Source: Boss-ladies.dk

- When I come out of a school, it is actually most of the boys, who are surprised that a anlægsstruktør can be a woman.

- the Girls, in contrast, is just really curious and open, says Samanda Brændholt Larsen, who is one of the Boss Ladies' over 50 ambassadors.

On march can she call herself anlægsstruktør, as the first woman from his school, but in the future she hopes to see more women in the profession.

- Diversity and diversity is just good for a workplace and a working environment, and therefore we should have more women in both my profession, but also the rest of the building and construction industry, she says.

She hopes that she as an ambassador for the Boss Ladies can inspire more young girls to take a håndværksfaglig training and help to do away with the prejudices that are on women in the trades.

- We must do away with the stereotypes and show that there are plenty of ways to go for the creative girls. As the mother of a girl, I would also like to contribute to pave the way for that no one is looking askance, if one day she will be a craftsman, says Samanda Brændholt Larsen, who is an ambassador for the Boss Ladies and soon graduated anlægsstruktør.