Bid to attract more women engineers (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Bid to attract more women engineers

3:32pm Thursday 17th August 2006 in News By Gordon Simpson

MANUFACTURER Dyson is encouraging young female apprentices to show off their talents through a unique new award.

In conjunction with the Institution of Engineering and Technology, it has launched the Dyson Young Woman Engineering App-rentice of the Year.

The award, for people in the South West, aims to highlight the value of apprenticeships to young women and hopes to encourage more women to consider engineering as a career.

Judges will be looking for candidates with a dynamic approach to solving engineering problems.

The winner will also have to demonstrate her ability to act as an enthusiastic role model to encourage other young women to go into engineering through the apprenticeship route.

Inventor James Dyson said: "We would encourage female apprentices to apply for this unique award, not only to shout about their achievements, but also to become a role model and ambassador for those on apprenticeship schemes.

"We strongly believe that women have a valuable role to play within engineering, design and technology. Embarking on an apprenticeship is a good route into engineering - it's very much about being involved and hands on from day one. Too much importance is placed on going to university.

"We are encouraged to become middle-class professionals and to avoid industry and manufacturing.

"But many overlook the rewarding opportunities that industry can offer young people, particularly women who are not traditionally encouraged to enter these fields."

The winner will receive a cheque for £750 and an inscribed certificate at the IET's Young Woman Engineer of the Year awards in London in January.

A Dyson spokesman said: "Dyson employs 560 women around the world on a permanent basis. In Dyson Technology, based at Malmesbury, we employ 33 women in the fields of science, engineering and technology.

"Some of our female scientists recently spent the day at Malmesbury School talking to year ten girls about their routes into science and engineering and the opportunities available in these fields."