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Women in engineering: it’s a topic high up the agenda for every business and a shared objective to make our technical industries more accessible to women – as NRL’s Egremont Director Rebecca Graves discusses with In-Cumbria business magazine.
For technical and engineering recruitment specialists NRL, it’s something they’re extremely passionate about, having seen first hand the rewarding careers that can be forged when women are supported to build a future in engineering.
They’re keen to empower women to succeed in traditionally male dominated sectors, working with their clients to identify what more can be done to attract a wider more diverse candidate pool to engineering and nuclear roles.
A great deal of progress has been made since just over 100 women listed themselves as working in engineering fields in the 1841 census. The latest insight from Engineering UK now shows that 16.5% of the engineering workforce are female - which despite being a 6% improvement on the previous year, still demonstrates that a great deal more improvement is needed.
“I remember when I first started at NRL, a woman talking to people about engineering roles and turning up to a nuclear power station – I certainly stood out.”
To tackle the imbalance, two key areas need to be further developed – Further encouragement of STEM subjects across the secondary education system, and the expansion of opportunities to reskill for established female professionals. A great deal of attributes have immediate transferability to engineering, a sector wide appreciation of this fact could quicky develop a greater gender balance.
HR and senior management teams should consider the overall package when looking to attract women into engineering positions. Looking at flexible working options, and apprenticeships and on the job training that is attractive to all ages.
Whilst engineering businesses are also urged to look at how they can support their local schools and colleges to demonstrate the wide range of careers available in the engineering industries.
For NRL’s Egremont Director Rebecca Graves, increasing the number of women in engineering is a personal objective as well as a business one.
“I remember when I first started at NRL, a woman talking to people about engineering roles and turning up to a nuclear power station – I certainly stood out. Over the years it’s promising to see more being done to attract women into nuclear and engineering roles, which they invariably go on to find extremely enriching and rewarding.
It’s a passion we share with our clients across the NRL Group, and we’re always proud to get involved where we can help to make a difference and champion women in technical fields. From visiting school classrooms to ensuring we provide female representation on committees.
We’re a firm believer that to drive inclusion and diversity it’s going to take a range of different actions, from supporting local initiatives that engage young women at an early age, to ensuring recruiters like ourselves are challenging businesses to think about how they can attract more women into their business by considering transferring skills, mentorships and dedicated training programmes.”
Looking to develop a more diverse workforce for your business, then get in touch with Rebecca on rgraves@nrl.co.uk
You can read the full July issue of In-Cumbria business magazine online.