Campaign to inspire women engineers of tomorrow

Just 3% of engineering apprentices are women because of an unconscious bias from teachers, parents and employers according to a new guide, Thinking about an apprenticeship?, from the Unite general union.

Launched earlier this month at the Voices of Apprentices conference, the guide aims to harness the experiences of young women in engineering and is part of a campaign by the union to bust myths and encourage more young women into engineering and science apprenticeships.

The guide is to be circulated to trade bodies and employer organisations, then rolled-out to schools and colleges.

Less than one in 15 (7%) of the UK’s engineering workforce are women, the lowest in the European Union, according to Unite, which warns that gender stereotyping in apprenticeships is stifling ambition and depriving the UK economy of vital skills and talent.

Unite head of equalities Siobhan Endean said: “Unconscious bias from teachers, parents and employers combined with outdated myths are deterring the women engineers of tomorrow.

“Young women are more likely to be encouraged to take up careers in hairdressing and social care than science and engineering. If we are to get the 87,000 new apprentices that the UK economy needs in engineering every year for the next decade, then we need to tackle the gender stereotyping of apprenticeships.”

The campaign will be using the experiences of the women engineers of today to inspire the women engineers and scientists of tomorrow.

www.unitetheunion.org/uploaded/documents/Job%206842%20A5%20WOMEN%20APPRENTICES11-22104.pdf