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23/06/2023 Since 1999, June 23rd has been the day to celebrate women across the world pursuing engineering and improving our lives with their incredible achievements. This article concentrates on two amazing women here at Alexander Battery Technologies and their contributions to the engineering industry. The article will focus on Amy Jefferson, Alexander Battery Technologies Human Resources manager, and Ruth Navarro who works as a project engineer for the business.
What have been the biggest challenges you have faced getting young women interested in engineering roles?
Amy has found that recruiting women for engineering jobs has been challenging due to the lack of female roles within STEM fields. The biggest impact of this can be seen in young women. The insufficient presence of female role models in engineering can passively discourage young women who are considering pursuing a career in the field before entering further education.
Why did you choose a career in engineering?
Ever since Ruth was young, she has always been passionate about how things work. Some of the most satisfying achievements of her early life was pulling toys apart for the challenge of putting them back together again. For Ruth, this was the start of her fascination with engineering. Ruth knew a career in engineering will lead to opportunities in many different areas and allow her to apply her developed skill set. Working as an NPI project engineer, Ruth has been able to use her skills to maximise efficiency in a production process while also having the ability to gain knowledge of different products.
Have you seen a development in the interest of women in undertaking engineering roles?
Recently, Amy has seen that girls have increased interest in a career in STEM areas. Alexander Battery Technologies have recently been hosting open days with local schools and colleges to encourage students to consider a career in STEM. Amy has found success combating the misconceptions about women in engineering through the help of current Project Engineering Apprentice Ellie Flip. Through the help of Ellie, Amy has provided young women with a role model to gain inspiration from and to have a visual example of young women succeeding in an engineering role. Amy has seen the open days the business has hosted increase the appetite young women have in pursuing a career in engineering.
How has Alexander Battery Technologies helped you get young women interested in engineering roles?
Amy has been completely supported to host open days using the company facilities to help her vision. Members of the wider Alexander Battery Technologies team have accompanied Amy at college-hosted career days to encourage her vision. These days are a chance for young women to learn about what a career in engineering would be like for them. With the whole Alexander Battery Technologies team goals aligned, Amy believes “we’re unstoppable”.
What has been your biggest achievement in your time working for Alexander Battery Technologies?
Since being a part of Alexander Battery Technologies Ruth has been able to work with customers to turn a conceptual idea into a fully working product. Despite tight regulations, Ruth was able to develop the battery pack to pass certifications whilst ensuring the customer was happy. This has been described as her proudest achievement with the company to date. Throughout the process, Ruth was amazed to see the creative steps behind designing an innovative product.
What do you hope to achieve in engineering over the course of your career?
As the world is changing at a rapid rate every day, Ruth knows she will have to improve her skills in order to keep growing in the engineering field. With this ever-increasing understanding of the industry, Ruth hopes to be able to provide new and innovative solutions to improve the process used within Alexander Battery Technologies.
Do you have any final thoughts?
Amy:
“ Manufacturing and Engineering are typically labelled as male-dominated industries. With over 40% of our workforce being female, ABT challenges this stereotype and we’re proud to have such a large proportion of females working at ABT.”
Conclusion
We hope this article has given you an insight into the amazing work our female staff have been doing at Alexander Battery Technologies. With over 40% of our workforce being female, this is just the tip of the iceberg of the fantastic work being produced by females all across the business. If you’re interested in working for Alexander Battery Technologies, please fill out our careers form.
