Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day
Today (Friday 23 June) we are proudly celebrating International Women in Engineering Day (INWED). Beginning as a national campaign by the Women’s Engineering Society in 2014, INWED has grown enormously, becoming an international day in 2017.
INWED gives women engineers around the world a profile, as sadly, they are still hugely under-represented with 2021 figures indicating that in the UK only 16.5 per cent of engineers are women. As the only platform of its kind, it plays a vital role in encouraging more young women and girls to take up engineering careers.
At first glance, an engineering career in the NHS may not seem the obvious choice, however there are a huge number of roles available specialising in different areas such as electrical, mechanical, building services or biomedical.
Starting a career in engineering could not be simpler, with the minimum requirement of three GCSEs including English, mathematics and science. Many start their journey as an apprentice, getting on-the-job training and working towards more formal qualifications progressing to become team leaders and managers in estates and facilities.
Encouragingly, 61 of the 97 roles included in the engineering footprint have seen an increase in the percentage of female workers between 2010 and 2021. The latest women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) statistics show that 94 per cent of female students believe that engineering is a suitable career.
Within the NHS women make up 75 per cent of the workforce, and as of 2022, more than 35 per cent of technology service roles at NHS Property Services (NHSPS) are filled by women, a large increase from 2018 which saw less than five per cent of women in these types of roles.
At BWC, we are proud to say we have a number of women either already in engineering roles, working towards qualifications or on apprenticeships with our Vital Services that will help them to pursue a career in engineering.
To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day, we spoke with three colleagues working in engineering roles at our Trust to hear about their experiences.
Click on the photos below to read more.
