Opening doors, together

On International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), we especially celebrate the power of collective action. This year’s theme, #TogetherWeEngineer, reminds us that progress in engineering happens when professionals, educators, families and students all work together in the same direction. Few people embody this spirit better than Louise Hewlett, Principal Engineer in our Huddersfield office, who has spent nearly two decades showing young people how teamwork and creativity shape the built environment.

Since developing an interest in Civil Engineering through information learnt at a secondary school careers fair, Louise has always been keen to get out and about into schools to help inspire others and show that Civil Engineering is a career for all.

In light of International Women in Engineering Day, we took some time to ask Louise a few questions in hopes to inspire engineers of the future.

 

Q:  How did a careers fair inspire you?

A:  Growing up I knew I wanted a job that would let me get outside and not be stuck behind a desk all day.  Having been taught to read a map at a very young age by my Dad, I dreamed of working as a cartographer.

Speaking to a Civil Engineer at my secondary school careers fair opened my eyes – I didn’t know such a job existed!  I did further research and decided that was the career I wanted to pursue, and I obtained a MEng in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Edinburgh in 2004, and have never looked back!

Q:  What sort of events do you attend?

A:  The majority of my events are in primary schools and are either delivering a STEM activity or taking part in a ‘World of Work’ panel event.

The ‘World of Work’ events involve sitting on a panel in front of a class of primary school children whilst they guess what job we all do based on our appearance alone – this is my favorite part and I have had anything from art teacher, to dentist via firefighter.  Following this we reveal a prop and give clues about what we do and the guesses narrow down.  Once our roles have been revealed we then take questions from the children – often insightful, sometimes more along the lines of ‘My Auntie Margaret does that, do you know her?!’.

The STEM event that I am currently delivering is ‘Design your Own Town’ – I give each group of students some sections of road, crossing facilities, and areas of interest to include then set them off designing a town with any additions that they want.  I have had some fantastic creations with glue stick people, rubber cars and all the shops you could ever imagine!  In the last session I did, one of the groups included our office and put it next to the police station to make sure we were kept safe which was a lovely touch.  It’s interesting to see the budding project managers that take charge and the ones who draw out a plan of the town before starting to lay out the pieces.

Q:  What about for older students?

A:  Talking to sixth formers is totally different, there is usually very little engagement and most of them look like they would rather be anywhere else – even if they’ve opted in to attending the session.

A recent session at one of our local colleges was like that, however it was followed up with a work experience request by a student who was really interested – she will be coming into the office in July for a week.  Getting this sort of interest makes it all the more rewarding.

Interestingly, Daniel Watson a trainee transport planner in the Huddersfield office was formerly a careers coordinator at the same local college, but when some of my colleagues attended the careers fair (just before my time with the company) he decided he fancied a career change and is now working towards a level 4 civil engineering senior technician apprenticeship (and doing very well).

Q:  What advice would you give your younger self when starting a career in engineering?

A: Embrace everything and make the most of all opportunities that are presented to you.

You might feel like it’s not relevant to the career path that you want to follow, but everything is useful (even if only in a pub quiz at a later date!).  I spent summer holidays from university working on the construction of a mixture of waste water treatment plants, sewer pipelines and reservoir improvements – none of this is relevant to my career now but it’s good to have an understanding of how other things work and what is possible to achieve.  By working on these schemes, I expanded my engineering knowledge, problem solving and started to learn how to develop a strong working relationship with contractors which has served me well during my career to date.

Why #TogetherWeEngineer matters

We believe it is important for young people to see engineers who foster collaboration and inclusivity, to help them see that there’s a place for everyone in this profession. Whether Louise is handing a glue stick to an eight-year-old town planner or mentoring an apprentice, she’s proof that engineering thrives on shared enthusiasm and collective problem solving.

So, this INWED, let’s keep opening doors, sharing stories, and lifting each other up—because #TogetherWeEngineer the communities and careers of tomorrow.

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