Women 'take advantage' of careers scheme

The Women in Work programme sees female engineering and advanced manufacturing employees undertake training to give them the confidence to progress in what is perceived as a male-dominated environment, said Semta - the engineering skills organisation in charge of the project.

“It is vital we have more women role models within the sector to mentor female colleagues

Semta chief executive Ann Watson

Of the 192 participants involved in the project so far this year, career development (58%) and management progression (20%) were cited as the key drivers for undertaking the training.

“The women along with their employers who have taken advantage of the Women in Work funding and training have given overwhelmingly positive feedback,” said Ann Watson, chief executive of Semta.

“It is vital we have more women role models within the sector to mentor female colleagues and encourage more girls into STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers.”

According to an Engineering UK report, the engineering industries will need to recruit more than 2.5 million people between 2012 and 2022, with more than 250,000 of these being required to fill new positions.

And of those 2.5 million, it is highly likely many will be STEM graduates filling more senior positions, and many will need to be women.

“Nearly a third of the job openings are forecast to be filled by women, rising to half for all new jobs created in the sector, so getting girls taking STEM subjects and into industry is a top priority,” Watson said. 

“Even then we have the challenge of getting more women into management positions, to become role models for others to follow in businesses where flexible working is seen as a positive rather than a burden.”