Girls have lift off in the battle for Brazil
17/04/2014 Enginuity
Female engineering students are hoping girl power will see them through to the finals of an international competition - and a potential career in space, helping to show other women that they can be as good if not better than their male counterparts.MACH 2014 - the UK's largest event for Manufacturing Technologies at Birmingham NEC - has given three young women the opportunity to put in some final training as squad members competing for a place in the WorldSkills finals in Brazil next year.
They have been working with Semta, which is engineering skills for the future and is responsible for 13 WorldSkills UK engineering competitions, in final preparation for team selection.
Hayley Ramadhar 18, from Cannock who is studying a Diploma in engineering alongside maths and physics A-levels at the Black Country UTC, was among those showcasing her skills at the five day MACH event last week.
Having competed in the Skills Show last November, Hayley has made it through to squad selection and now hopes to make the team.
"It would be an amazing experience to go to Brazil," she said. "There is still a lot of stereotyping like people saying 'you're a girl wearing dresses and skirts you can't do this' or 'who let the hairdressers into engineering' but it is fine when you get into it and you just have to prove that we can do it.
"Somebody told me that I could be part of the research team to make the next generation of the space shuttle. I love space - my ambition is to work on the space shuttle."
Classmate Charlotte Hall, 17 is also studying a Diploma in engineering and A-level maths and was part of the team with Hayley which finished fourth in the industrial controls competition and received a Highly Commended medal at the UK Skills Show.
She has overcome prejudice along the way to follow her family into engineering.
"It has been part of my background since I was a child," said Charlotte. "My granddad and uncles all had jobs within engineering. It has been a passion I have always had.
"I want to become an apprentice and work my way up to a high position. It has been very hard as I was the only girl at school doing engineering but I had extremely good teachers who not only supported me but gave me help when I faced difficulties from male students - you just have to deal with it.
"Girls should not let it put them off. It is a great career. Just think in 20 years' time you could be their boss."
Naomi Stephenson is studying an HND in electronic engineering at South Eastern Regional College in her home town of Bangor, Northern Ireland and is hoping to make the squad for the industrial electronics competition.
Despite only joining the college in September last year Naomi has shown so much promise she was been put forward by her training manager.
"I have not done any of the competitions but I still have the chance to go to Brazil," she said. "I just have to prove myself and work harder to get up to the standard of everyone else. I feel really excited and happy that I was recommended to go.
"I think girls should just go for it. My whole class is boys but it hasn't put me off in the slightest. I really enjoy it - everyone is really supportive."
Naomi wants to go on to do a degree and then a career in design - after hopefully making Team UK to compete in Industrial Electronics at WorldSkills in Brazil.
Semta's chairman Allan Cook CBE, is determined to see more women into engineering.
"It is changing - but it is changing very slowly," he said. "51% of the UK population is female yet we have less than 10-12% actually going into engineering and manufacturing.
"There is a real mismatch with capabilities - I know that girls are equally excited about what we can do within industry - we just have to provide the inspiration that they need to encourage them to take on engineering and manufacturing as a career.
"It is going to be a long process but we have started - the Government, industry, other associations including the Royal Academy of Engineering - I am leading an industry body now that is trying to encourage girls into engineering and manufacturing. We are making progess but it is really slow."
For more information, please visit: www.semta.org.uk
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