Let's hear it for the girls

As part of National Women in Engineering Day, we wanted to showcase the valuable role that women play at Western Power Distribution (WPD). We spoke with some of our engineers to find out more about them and what motivated them to join the engineering profession.

Yiango Mavrocostanti

24 year old Graduate Trainee Yiango has spent the last year experiencing multiple roles at WPD to understand the various activities required to keep the lights on for homes and businesses.

Yiango moved from Cyprus to England five years ago with an ambition to join the Power Academy Scheme, where University undergraduates take on summer placements as part of an engineering scholarship.

“I researched the Power Academy online and it sounded like a fantastic opportunity to progress in a career that I was passionate about.” said Yiango.

The Power Academy scheme is supported by WPD, and Yiango spent four placements in different areas of the business and also completed her final year’s Electrical Engineering Masters project with the company, before progressing to the WPD Graduate Scheme.

“I chose to work at WPD because their values aligned with mine. I am a strong believer in the ethos of delivering the best service for customers and WPD has this at the core of their business.”

Yiango is enthusiastic about a future in the industry with the challenges that lay ahead. “To be one of those who will define how the electricity network operates in the future really excites me,” Yiango said.

Yiango summarised: “A career in engineering is about having passion and enthusiasm for the subject and a determination to succeed. If you have the will to succeed, you are destined to achieve.”

Graduate Trainee Yiango Mavrocostanti

Amanda Tompkins

Amanda Tompkins, Communications Engineer in Surf Telecoms, part of WPD’s business, shared her working experience in the industry.

Joining the company in 2000 as a Team Support, Amanda knew early on that she was more interested in the technical aspects of the team and pursued an HND in Computing through evening classes.

A key aspect of her role involves monitoring the telecommunications networks and detecting faults before they become an issue to customers which include WPD, global carriers and cellular operators.

She said: “My dad was my inspiration, he is an electrical engineer and as a youngster I used to spend most of my free time out and about with him watching him at work. During my GCSE’s I did not have a clear plan as such about an engineering career so initially went to work for the Council as a Debt Counsellor.

“After a while I knew my interests were elsewhere so signed up for the HND course just as I joined Surf. I love the variety of my role and the excitement that no two days are the same.”

Communications Engineer Amanda Tompkins

Theresa Evans

Theresa Evans, from Pontypool, South Wales works WPD as a Design Engineer.

Theresa, who has over 20 years’ experience of working in the electricity industry, began her career as a Graduate Engineer.

She joined WPD in 2001 and is currently based at its Lamby Way office in Cardiff and is now a senior member of the Primary System Design department.

Her day to day activities include working on multi-million pound generation projects, planning and designing the electricity network, meeting customers and discussing connection issues as they arise.

Theresa, a Chartered Engineer said: “I would definitely encourage young women to enter engineering. It’s an interesting world and with constant advances in technologies it can only continue to grow.

“Engineering as a whole has so many different areas to venture into. I can honestly say I have never experienced any kind of prejudice. It’s been a pleasure to interact with all elements of the company and customers alike.

Asked how she got into the profession, she explained: “It’s always been something that I’ve been interested in. There’s so much to see and do and it’s very rewarding.”

Theresa’s has some advice for any woman thinking about taking up an engineering role: “There are so many opportunities within the industry and some great career prospects.”

Design Engineer Theresa Evans