Jobs & Careers with Piers Linney - 104

'I've had wonderful mentors and love the variety of my job'
Vicky Stewart, 31, is principal acoustician for Atkins
'When I was growing up,
end. I have since gone on to complete a
I was interested in music
MSc in acoustics and noise control, and
and sound, and good at
now work as principal acoustician for
subjects like maths and
Atkins. I love the variety of my job, which
science. During my
requires problem solving, site work, maths,
A-levels I applied for
technology and talking to people. I also
various university courses, and chose
get to work with a lot of talented engineers
Salford University's Audio Technology
and environmentalists.
degree. I went from being one of six girls
'My job has inspired me also to volunteer
in my A-level physics group at an all-girls
as a STEM ambassador in local schools,
grammar school, to being one of three girls
helping at workshops, talks, careers fairs
out of a group of 70 degree students!
and mock interviews. It's very rewarding to
'In my second year, I was given the
help youngsters find out about the different
chance to sign up for a year in industry,
types of careers they can pursue.
and that placement turned out to be
'I would definitely recommend a career
the best decision I have ever made. My
in engineering to other girls. Engineering
placement at Atkins gave me the chance
is often thought of as being all about maths
to work on a wide range of projects, and
and physics, not to mention hard hats and
I also had some wonderful mentors. To my
grease. Of course the technical side is very
delight, Atkins offered to take me on after
important, but engineering is a creative
I had finished my course. It took the stress
job, and it is as much to do with people
off the last year as I knew I had a job at the
skills as it is with physics.'

Plenty of places
The skills shortage in engineering means
there are plenty of jobs for graduates in
this field. And there's no lack of degree
places in the UK for wannabe engineers.
Yet only 14% of applicants are female.
Many universities are making active
steps to improve this situation. Brunel
University, for example, offers 30
scholarships for women on its MSc
engineering courses as part of its Women
in Engineering programme.
'Like the engineering profession itself,
we are acutely aware that to continue to
thrive, we need to recruit many more

1 0 4 /// J O B S & C A R E E R S

women on to our courses,' says Dr Rosa
Scoble, Brunel Director of Planning.
'The pilot programme is already proving
an enormous success both with students
and with professional engineer mentors.
'We already have more than 400
female student engineers on campus, and
this year we are looking to scale up that
number drastically,' says Scoble.

Companies must contribute
Educating women on the opportunities
within engineering is one part of the
battle. The other is improving the culture
of diversity within companies themselves.
Jenny Young, diversity manager at the
Royal Academy of Engineering, agrees
that a more inclusive working culture
is essential. 'Engineering has traditionally
been dominated by white British males,
and that is still the case in the main.
It's vital that companies work to provide
a culture that is both welcoming and
rewarding for every kind of person, and
somewhere they want to stay and grow.'
And many companies are doing just
that: implementing female recruitment
programmes, launching women's
networking schemes and encouraging

existing engineers to become STEM
mentors. Natalie Desty says: 'I have seen
a lot of recent changes in the industry.
Although engineering is still struggling
to make progress in diversity in terms
of numbers, the attitudes and initiatives
to get more women involved in the sector
have advanced so much.
'Engineering is about design and
innovation and is starting to lose its
heavy, dirty tag which historically has
impacted on its perceived attractiveness
for women. The women that I meet
in the sector are proud to be working
in engineering and contributing to some
truly amazing projects.'
Engineering firms are keen to recruit
women not just because there's a general
skills shortage, but also because they're
increasingly recognising that diverse
teams can produce more innovative ideas.
Natalie agrees: 'There's a big skills gap
- candidates who apply themselves will
not only find themselves with a good job
after school, college or university, but
also be in a sector where they can really
develop their career. Engineering is one
of the most innovative, diverse and
exciting careers out there. It offers
plentiful opportunities to work on
life-changing projects and impact future
economic development.
'I can't think of another sector that
offers all the above that is actively
marketing itself at females. Surely
there has never been a better time for
a woman to become an engineer.'

Why be an engineer?
* 98% of women engineers say they
find their jobs rewarding*.
* 84% are either happy, or extremely
happy, with their career choice*.
* The profession is not about hard
hats or engines or physical strength
- it's about problem solving.
* You could be creating and developing
innovations that literally change the
world - apps, cars, planes, spaceships,
the internet - all of these were created
by engineers.
* There are hundreds of jobs across
hundreds of areas: from nuclear power
to motoring to designing roads.
* 79% of female engineers say that
engineering provided a good work/
life balance*.

Words: Kia Hansen. Photographs: Getty Images, Shutterstock. Source: * Engineering UK State of Engineering 2015 report.

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