International Women in Engineering Day is upon us and an award-winning Humber initiative is launching its latest push to see even more happening here.
Women into Manufacturing and Engineering is taking the opportunity to encourage women and girls of all ages to consider exploring or switching to a career in manufacturing, engineering, science, technology or digital.
It will bring more than 30 local employers together early next month for its latest careers open day.
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Kirsty Clode, chair of WiME, the organisation recently toasted at the Humber Renewables Awards for work with leading offshore wind developer Orsted, said: “We have an extensive network of businesses who work with WiME to promote opportunities for women and girls, who will attend these events with female employees who can speak to the attendees and can give them a first-hand account of what it’s like to be a woman in industry, how they can get started and what kind of training they may have to undertake. Some employers even have current vacancies they are looking to fill.
“By providing these real-life role models, it helps women and girls see that people like them can do these roles and do them really well – there are no limits on what they can achieve and it’s never too early to start thinking about, or too late to make the switch to, a rewarding career in STEM.”
She told how with great pay, a high number of vacancies and attractive prospects, careers in manufacturing and engineering present a wide variety of interesting and exciting roles, which play an important part in our economy.
In the Humber region, manufacturing contributes 17 per cent of our employment compared with 8.7 per cent for England – and this number is set to grow thanks to the investment in renewable energy, local decarbonisation projects and investments such as the new train factory in Goole and A63 Castle Street improvements.
However, despite the high demand, women are under-represented.
Laura Botham, HR manager at Siemens Gamesa, said: “As proud supporters of WiME, Siemens Gamesa will be attending the careers event to speak with all of those attending about the fantastic opportunities within our sector and business. The global renewable energy industry is growing at a faster rate than ever, creating more and more jobs throughout its supply chain which require a diverse range of skills and experiences. It is essential that we reflect the industry’s role in driving sustainable and inclusive growth around the world by attracting the widest talent pool. By encouraging more diversity in this arena, we can ensure those with the best aptitude and attitude are making a difference, ensuring the sector’s ongoing success and Siemens Gamesa’s competitiveness.
“I am really excited to attend the event, having the opportunity to inspire young women about potential careers in our business. Moreover, I am really pleased to be talking to women during the career fair, about our current vacancies here at the Hull blade factory; we really are in exciting times as we are expanding our facility on the Humber.”
The event takes place at Hull’s Guildhall on Wednesday, July 6 between 4.30pm and 6.30pm.
Host, Hull City Council leader Cllr Mike Ross, said: “We very much support the WiME initiative and hope the careers open day is a huge success. Manufacturing and engineering are two important sectors of growth for our city. By encouraging more diversity in this arena, we can ensure the people with the best aptitude and attitude are making a difference and ensuring this sector’s ongoing success, which is really important for Hull as a city, as well as the wider region. We should all be doing as much as we can to encourage women and girls to explore a career in these industries.”
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Hannah Woodgate joined Siemens Gamesa as a logistics intern, recently securing a permanent role as a direct supply professional in the supply chain and logistics function.
“Having had a passion for the environment since I was a little girl, it was my dream to work in renewables,” she said.
“Initially I was sceptical about pursuing a career in such a male driven industry. However, being part of a team that is made up of equal numbers of male and female colleagues showed me that the future is more diverse. I am proud to be part of a business that is not only shaping the future of energy, but is also driving diversity and inclusivity within the workplace.”
Having studied Environmental Science, Geography, Maths and English at A-Level, she read Geography at the University of Hull.
“I applied for the logistics internship with little knowledge on what the role would entail. What started as a 12 month internship has now turned into the start of my career,” she added.
Jayne Taylor-Whitticks owns welding inspection company Magna Inspections.
First established 14 years ago in her bedroom, the Driffield business is now a multi-million pound company, responsible for assessing the quality and strength of welding work on projects across the UK.
Her welding inspectors travel the country, working in the nuclear, oil and gas, and structural steel sectors.
She said: “Whilst I didn’t set out to work as an engineer, I would say I have one of the best jobs in the world – every day is different, and I’ve travelled the world doing what I love.
“I’m a metallurgist by trade, so my job entails solving problems. For example, if a weld fails, I investigate to see why it’s happened. I work with design and structural engineers to come up with solutions, I look at how we can fix problems and the materials that should be used.
“One of the things that I love the most is that my job is so varied. One day I can be on a structural steel site, the next I can be on a nuclear power plant, or offshore working on wind turbines.
“However, whilst I’ve established myself in the industry, it’s rare that I come across another female welding engineer. I’d say I’m one of the only women in the UK in the field – it’s very much a male-dominated sector and there just aren’t enough women that want to come into welding.
“Because of this, when I first started out, I had to prove myself to the men I worked with. I had to give instructions to welders that had been in the industry for over 40 years, and back then there wasn’t any respect for a woman.”
She said an early award in the Women of Achievement Awards, run by Women in Business Hull was a “massive confidence boost”.
"It gave me the encouragement needed to continue to turn my business into the multi-million-pound company it is today,” she said. Magna’s high-profile clients include Hinkley Power Station and Crossrail in London, with an 11-strong team.
“Celebrating women’s achievements in engineering is something that should be encouraged to increase the number of women joining the industry. As well as acknowledging industries that don’t always get the recognition they deserve, it demonstrates what is possible in the field of engineering.
“Now I’m more established, I am well-respected, but I do have to prove myself, whereas I think that male engineers don’t have to prove their worth as much.”
She is frustrated by the lack of facilities still evident at sites, and while more females are beginning to take up careers in the space, latest figures show that just 16.5 per cent of engineers are women.
“Being an engineer isn’t celebrated enough in the UK, especially being a woman in engineering," she said. "In countries like France and Germany, being an engineer is akin to being a doctor. Qualifying to be an engineer, which requires a university degree in the UK, is a huge achievement and should be valued.
"There’s definitely more we could be doing education-wise. Schools could promote the different paths available in the field of engineering. We need to promote the possibilities.”
