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International Women In Engineering Day - Part 1

Alison Sleightholm, Director of Resources and External Affairs here at WPD shares her thoughts about the skills gap in the energy industry and how more women could be encouraged to take up a career in engineering for International Women in Engineering Day, she explains:

“Recruiting distribution engineers into the industry is difficult and so much so, they now appear on the Home Office’s official Shortage Occupation List. Therefore recruiting and retaining women engineers’ is an even greater challenge for the industry and one that WPD is keen to address.

“Having worked in the industry for more than 30 years, I have seen a change in attitude to women engineers but we need to start with education. We need to see more young girls encouraged to follow STEM subjects which will form a solid foundation for anyone considering a career in engineering.

“At WPD our people are our greatest asset and turnover of staff is low, but each year we provide opportunities for various engineering roles for men and women starting at GCSE level apprenticeships all the way through to our graduate programme via the Power Academy.

“As a new member of WISE this will provide an additional platform for WPD to promote engineering opportunities across the business. My advice to girls and women considering a career in engineering, work hard, do plenty of maths and remember any barriers to your personal growth are those you invent for yourself.”


Alison Sleightholm, Director of Resources and External Affairs at WPD
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