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Engineering continues to be a male dominated profession despite real
We have been fortunate this year to prospects for women. So how can we encourage
have an excellent cohort of raw talent more women into the
in Design, Technology and Computer engineering industry?
Modelling. In our department we have
long debated the pros and cons of Engineering is one of the most
apprenticeships vs university courses diverse areas to work in, as
engineers find new ways of
post St David’s, and using our extensive
doing things and developing
industrial links we have been able,
creative solutions to modern
whenever possible, to forge relationships
problems, ultimately creating a
which allow some of our students to
better lifestyle for us all.
enrol on bespoke apprenticeship schemes
that offer paid employment along with But reports show that men
relevant academic study - often through continue to have all the fun and
the HND - degree route. Our list of partner dominate the industry; figures from
companies continues to grow and they take the Institution of Engineering and
great interest in the skills and academic Technology (IET) suggest that the
levels achieved by many of our students. It number of women pursuing a career
in engineering is in decline, while
must also be said that we at St David’s are
worrying statistics report that out of
very keen to promote technological studies
243,000 registered engineers only
to our female students in order for them to
7,608 of those are women...
make informed career choices, especially in
the fields of engineering, product/industrial When girls don’t think they are welcome
design and architecture - often areas in a subject such as engineering, it means
perceived as male dominated environments. that some of the most talented
We have a great many very successful female individuals are lost to this employment
Old Davidian’s working in the aforementioned sector.
fields and are proud of them all.
Despite women’s interest and success in
science and maths at GCSE level, there is
evidence that they still feel out of place in
these knowledge-based sectors – this is
backed up by the fact that just four per cent
of UK engineering apprentices are female.

Progress definitely seems to have stalled
despite the industry’s efforts to work with
schools and colleges to promote interest in
young people, and especially women, in a
technical career.

Within the small number of women actually
taking courses in engineering, it has been found
that many students come from families with an
engineering or technology background.

Year on year, our Design and Technology department sees
many able students of both sexes, and we strive to encourage
them all on a level playing field. For example, the architectural project
pictured on this page was created by U6 student Olivia Johnson who, following
on from her success at the Welsh Innovation Awards last year, is going off to university
to study Mechanical Engineering. Ellen Flannery and Rebecca Lawrence-Jones (U6) also
produced high class work in their respective fields. Our L6 in DT and CADACAM includes six girls
who are keen to follow careers in technology/engineering and architecture; we will encourage them at
every opportunity and ensure that working alongside their (equally talented) male counterparts is the
norm.
design and technology
an old perspective
Martin O’Leary
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