Girls should not be put off engineering, claims student

Female students have been urged by one of their peers to consider engineering courses and a subsequent career in this area. Nabeela Desai is one of just two girls in the 106 new students recently welcomed to the new university technical college (UTC) in Burnley, but that has not put her off the idea of excelling in the engineering industry, reports the Lancashire Telegraph. She explained that the very last thing she expected upon enrolling was that she would be one of the only female students in attendance, but this has not put her off. Describing her passion for engineering, she stated: "Since I was little I've always helped my dad with jobs around the house, like joinery, though he hasn't always let me do the heavier stuff. I don't like being sat in lessons being taught. I'd much rather just go and make stuff and be practical." Ms Desai is not the only one who is leading the trend for women to take up engineering posts and succeed within them. For instance, Marilyn Pilkington, engagement manager at Training 2000, said it is her "absolute passion" to drive more female students towards engineering so that there is a 50/50 split between the genders at UTC. "Girls don't realise about the opportunities in engineering, and when they realise them, they stop wanting to be hairdressers," she said. Ms Pilkington went on to explain that it is the duty of UTC to ensure girls no longer fall at the hurdles that have stopped their predecessors from taking up engineering courses. She suggested that one of the major problems is that there are few female role models in this area. Once this changes, it could be a very different story for women in the engineering industry. There are a huge variety of engineering jobs available in the UK and many involve working on some fascinating projects, so the benefits of operating in this particular sector are significant and plentiful.