NICEIC sponsors IET Young Woman Engineer Awards 2011
Posted by admin on Feb 27, 2011 in News | 19 comments
NIEIC continues its promotion of encouraging more women into the electrical contracting industry, with the sponsorship of this year’s IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards 2011.
The award recognises young females who have made outstanding progress in the world of engineering – a traditionally male dominated environment in which women have found it difficult to break into.
However, according to the NICEIC, in recent years women have excelled in the industry and the award was set up to recognise these achievements and promote the opportunities to others considering a career in engineering.
“We are delighted to be associated with the IET Awards as they are a meaningful way to encourage female role models in our industry,” said NICEIC’s CEO Emma McCarthy.
“Supporting the awards is also part of our wider Jobs for the Girls campaign which we will continue to push over the coming years. If we are to plug the skills gap shortage we cannot afford to dismiss half the working population.”
The Jobs for the Girls campaign aims to highlight the prospects available to females within the electrical industry.
NICEIC’s research suggests there is a growing demand from young women aged 18-25 to take up a career in these traditionally male dominated professions, such as engineering and electrical contracting.
“Women need to feel re-assured that there are significant opportunities available to them and that there are no barriers to entry. The IET Awards go a long way to support this initiative and that is why we wanted to back this worthy event.”
As part of its campaign, NICEIC is working on a practical guide to help understand equality issues and give guidance to employers. It is also hoping to recruit more young females to its recently launched Apprentice Academy.
The academy, run in partnership with Bedford College, aims to provide young students with the necessary training and skills to meet the demanding challenges of the industry.