Northern Gas Networks (NGN), the North of England’s gas distributor, is urging more women to explore the career opportunities available in the energy sector ahead of International Women in Engineering Day 2022 on Thursday, June 23rd
This is the ninth year that International Women in Engineering Day has been marked in the UK. Run by the Women’s Engineering Society, its aim is to raise the profile of women working in engineering and focus attention on the many opportunities available to girls and women in the engineering sector. Currently 16.5% of engineers are women.
This year’s IWED theme is Inventors and Innovators, and at NGN, women are leading the work programmes focused on delivering a greener energy system to the UK.
Stella Matthews from Barnsley, is NGN’s Hydrogen Development Manager, working with supply chain businesses, industry stakeholders and government leads on innovation projects focused on exploring the role of the zero-carbon gas for heating domestic homes.
She said: “My advice to girls wanting to get involved in engineering is ‘go for it’ and say yes to every opportunity. It’s such an exciting time to be involved in our industry, shaping the future of energy.
“We definitely don’t shout enough about our achievements. Role models are really needed, so girls interested in a career in engineering, or in industry, can see them and aspire to get there to. The more visible we are the better.”
Stella joined NGN six years ago as a document controller in the Major Projects team, having studied archaeology at university.
She continued: “I did a traineeship at the National Archives, which gave me a good grounding on process and sign-off. After a year at NGN, Iearning all about the gas industry, I secured a role within the H21 team as an admin assistant, working on projects demonstrating how hydrogen could be used to heat homes like natural gas is used today.
“I led on some of the project customer communications elements, before becoming Assistant Project Manager and eventually Hydrogen Development Manager in 2020.
“My role involves speaking to different stakeholders, external and internal – industry, government, international companies and knowledge-sharing on hydrogen to look for ways we can collaborate.
“Every day is completely different.”
As well as being an employer, NGN also trains the engineers of the future and runs a successful apprenticeship programme.
Freya Osment was one of three women who joined the gas distribution network in 2021 as an Electrical and Instrumentation apprentice, working across Yorkshire.
She said: “I always wanted to do something involving engineering. My dad was a mine engineer, and then moved into precision engineering and lathe work. Growing up I was kind of a tomboy, and I liked helping him out, helping fix things.
“At secondary school, I did the usual subjects but after I left, I went to college to study General Engineering which I did for three years. That involved CAD, lathe work, welding. In my class of 30 students, I was the only girl. But I was in Army Cadets between 13 and 18, and always enjoyed doing logical things so it just felt like the right fit for me.
“I’m an Electrical and Instrumentation apprentice, so I monitor and calibrate equipment that controls temperatures and pressures on the network, making sure everything is within specification.
“My days are usually pretty busy, travelling around to different ‘off-take’ sites around Yorkshire where the National Grid transmission network joins our distribution network. I also have days where I’m at college learning and because we’re studying for two qualifications, there is a lot of learning as well, but I really enjoy that.
“My advice to any girl considering engineering would be to go for it, don’t worry about what people think and be yourself. If you like being out and about, days that are very different from each other and logical ways of working then it’s a great job to be doing.”
NGN is working to offer more opportunities to female engineers through its Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. It has also introduced a Gender Decoder before a job advert is posted to ensure language is suited to all genders and created a Women’s Network Community within NGN to ensure women’s voices are heard and listened to within the organisation.
NGN is also a business partner for Solutions for the Planet; an organisation which brings together schools and businesses to encourage all pupils to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and to think about how science can provide solutions to the challenges of sustainability.
Find out more at www.inwed.org.uk or follow #INWED2022 on Twitter.
For more information about career opportunities at NGN, visit https://talos-careers.azurewebsites.net/notherngas/
For more information on NGN, visit the Northern Gas Networks website. Alternatively, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
