Council Highlights Brilliant Work Of Female Engineers

Caerphilly County Borough Council is marking Women in Engineering Day, Thursday June 23rd, by highlighting the brilliant work female engineers do within the council. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Set up in 2014 by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), the national day to celebrate its 95th anniversary to raise the profile and celebrate the achievements of women within the industry. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The council has spoken to five women, Michelle Johnson, Sarah Stook, Elizabeth Gibby, Jacqueline Mynott and Nicola Tiley, who all work within the Engineering department in varied roles. Each of the ladies explained why they chose a career within Engineering and what do they enjoy most about their jobs, to which they all replied with “not one day is the same.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Michelle, Johnson, Senior Drainage Engineer, tells us how she began her career within engineering and what she enjoys most about working for the department on our YouTube channel. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Jacqueline Mynott, Principal Engineer for the structures team, describes her role day to day and why she enjoys her chosen career on our YouTube channel. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Sarah Stook, Assistant Engineer, decided she wanted to work within the industry from a young age, she said “It started back in school because I studied Construction Design and Technology and I enjoyed using some of the earliest forms of drawing software, I also enjoyed Maths and problem solving and I knew about the range of career opportunities within Civil Engineering.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

She continued, “The job is a challenge because there are new things every day and I’m always learning, so I’m always kept on my toes. It’s just a joy to come to work. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“To any girls interested in working within Engineering, go for it! There’s never a dull moment and the sky’s the limit, you can go as far as you want to go.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Also contributing to Women in Engineering Day is Christina Harrhy, the council’s Corporate Director for Communities. She said, “I think engineering is the best career anybody could embark upon, it’s very varied and if you enjoy the outdoors it’s a great industry to be in, but whether you enter engineering or not, the degree is a great foundation upon which to build your future career. I would really encourage people to do it and it is something I am extremely proud of.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

You can watch Christina explain why she decided a career in engineering was for her and why others should choose to pursue a career in the industry on our YouTube channel. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Tom Williams, Cabinet Member for transportation, highways and engineering added, “To have this national day is a great way to showcase the variety of jobs within the engineering industry. I am delighted to see each of these ladies give their personal journey on how they achieved their role to inspire the next generation of female engineers.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​