'There are not many lady roofers in the entire country and to have an award-winning one in Derbyshire is incredible'

Gabriella of Old Whittington, Chesterfield is among less than a dozen women across England who have chosen roofing as a career. Her enthusiasm for working at Dalton Roofing has been honoured with The Nation’s A* Trades Apprentice Award 2025.

Nineteen-year-old Gabriella was nominated by her boss, Phil Dalton, for the award. She said: "I joined this job with absolutely zero experience less than a year ago and to then win apprentice of the year is fantastic. It’s an amazing opportunity.

"Being in this job is one of the best jobs I’ve ever had and the people around it are fantastic. Sometimes you might be putting in a roof, and the next day you could be doing a bay window so you get different ideas of how to do certain things and it changes things up a bit. I love the people I work with – they make it feel like your second family.”

Her most recent jobs have been a garage extension in Dronfield and a bay window in Sheffield. Gabriella said: “We’ve worked on quite a lot of factories and three or four storey houses. When I first started I did a re-roof on an office building on Chatsworth Road in Chesterfield.

"I absolutely love heights. I like the fact that you can see the views from a roof. As a kid I used to love rollercoasters and the heights never fazed me.”

Gabriella, a former student at Whittington Green School, used to work in cafes after finishing school but became disenchanted with the long weekend shifts. Her older brother, Tom, who is a roofer at Dalton Roofing, suggested to his boss that his sister could work in the company’s yard. Gabriella spent a weekend clearing tiles and cleaning up the yard and within a couple of days was offered the opportunity of becoming a roofing apprentice by the company’s managing director, Phil Dalton.

Gabriella is a breath of fresh air in a male-dominated industry. She said: “I've had a few comments such as ‘I'm surprised that we've got a woman on the job’ or ‘it's lovely to see a woman doing a man's job’. It’s a fantastic job and I think more women should get into it.

"Growing up with an older brother you always get picked on or had banter with, so I know how to take it and give it back!"

The siblings don’t work on jobs together because Tom, 25 is a flat roofer and Gabriella is a pitch roofer.

Phil Dalton, managing director of Dalton Roofing, said: “There is a really big shortage in our industry of lady roofers so we reached out to schools and other places to try and get a lady roofer and eventually we got Gabriella. The thing that touched me most was how fondly her brother spoke about her and it was nice that he was looking after his younger sister.

"Gabriella came to do a bit of work in the yard and I got talking to her. She was such a nice, positive young girl and I asked her ‘what do you think about roofing, why don’t you give it a try for a week?’ She gave it a try and has never looked back. She has fitted in fantastically, is really good and has done incredibly well – nothing fazes Gabriella.

“We nominated Gabriella for this award simply because of her enthusiasm. She deserves it, she’s a breath of fresh air, and whoever she works with just says she’s incredible, she’s great.”

Commenting on Gabriella’s win, Phil said: "I am really proud for her. It's good for Chesterfield and it's good for Derbyshire. There are not many lady roofers in the entire country and to have an award-winning one in Derbyshire is incredible.”

Phil currently has six apprentices in his workforce. He employs 28 roofers and seven office staff at Dalton Roofing on Sheffield Road, Chesterfield. Phil was just 20 when he launched his business in Sheffield in 1990. A decade ago he relocated his roofing company to Chesterfield.

Gabriella was one of three winners of The Nation’s A* Trades Apprentice Award 2025. She won a Festool toolkit and accessories won £4,000, £750 voucher to spend on trades clothing at workwear and tools provider ITS and 24-hour tools cover for a year from Markel Direct worth £294.

One of the judges, Robin Clevett, who hosts The Carpentry Show on Fix Radio, said: “It’s very brave to come into any industry where you may be different. And the fact that she’s been able to come in and stand her own, she’s 100% capable of being a fantastic roofing contractor and smashing it out the park.”