So said Marisa Kurimbokus, Head of Engineering at Raeon, last December, as she stepped on stage to receive the prestigious Young Woman Engineer of the Year award. As an engineering student, she acutely felt the lack of female role models, and an important aspect of her career to date has been to inspire new engineers entering the profession, and to make herself visible as a high-flying woman in engineering.

“Having my achievements recognised through this award has been a huge honour and moment of personal and professional pride. I’m now at a stage where I’m fortunate to be able to inspire and support more young people to enter the industry and realise their ambitions through a career in engineering. There are so many girls and young women out there that we need to welcome into engineering, as it’ll be their ideas and designs that help us to deliver a better tomorrow.”

Another young engineer who has made it her mission to inspire the next generation of engineers is Alexia Williams, current holder of the Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices. She has spent over 200 hours at air shows, careers fairs and in schools promoting engineering as a career – speaking particularly on entering the profession via an apprenticeship route. She said: “Anyone I meet, I always say, do it via an apprenticeship, especially if you want to go into the engineering field, because it’s second to none with hands-on experience – and no student debts!”

Natalie Parker is another outstanding young engineer who has made supporting others central to her career. In her role as Technical Specialist at Sellafield, she manages a team of nine, and provides technical advice and project support to front-line and facility-facing engineers. She also developed a primary school workshop called ‘Get Wired…Get Coding’ to introduce students to electrical circuits and programming through fun interactive activities, and to show how STEM skills can be utilised in careers.