Breaking Gender Barriers

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100% of the female engineers in Year 13 at Lincoln UTC have now secured the next step in their careers, with advanced engineering apprenticeships at Siemens and Wefco.

Shannon Ashby, Louise Dawson and Charlotte Cluitt started at the UTC in 2015, and are all predicted to achieve distinction grades in their Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in Engineering.

Louise and Charlotte were recently offered their apprenticeships with Siemens after an extremely competitive application process, involving metric testing, group and individual interviews. 

Shannon started her apprenticeship in design engineering at Wefco in August 2018, and has been working part time alongside her studies at Lincoln UTC for the past academic year. 

Our vision is to ensure that every student develops the skills required to secure the next step of their chosen career, either at university or in employment.

As part of this commitment students in all year groups are provided with the opportunity for work experience every year. Collectively the three girls have completed placements at Staythorpe Power Station, RAF Scampton, Waldeck Consulting, Siemens, and Fairfield Control Systems.

Louise said: “Studying at the UTC has allowed me to form meaningful links with local employers, which have been vital in securing my apprenticeship. Having so much direct experience in the world of work definitely made me stand out in my interview with Siemens.”

2017 surveys by Women into Science and Engineering (WISE) indicate that just 11% of the engineering workforce is female. We are proud to be working together to break down gender barriers, challenge misconceptions, and empower future girls in STEM.

Charlotte said: “Engineering isn’t often very popular among girls, so I’m proud of what I’ve achieved so far. I’ll be starting my apprenticeship in August, and complete ten months at Lincoln College before spending a month in each of the different sectors at Siemens.”

Shannon said: “I’m so grateful for the experience I’ve had at Lincoln UTC, which has fully prepared me for a future career in engineering. Moving schools at the start of Year 10 was a big step, but so worth it.”