International Women in Engineering Day

International Women in Engineering Day was launched in 2014 to celebrate the 95th Anniversary of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES). Since its launch, the day’s popularity has grown rapidly and in 2016 it received UNESCO patronage.

Here at Wessex Internet, we are lucky to work with a number of inspiring women, which is why we wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge all of their incredible achievements. Find out why they love their job and get more of an insight as to what the industry offers.

To start with we asked our Health & Safety Manager, Carol Robinson, why she would recommend a career in engineering:

“The great thing about engineering and construction is the huge range of roles that they open up for you. Regardless of what role you have, there are always loads of opportunities to move into different sectors and develop a career that works for you.”

Our Network Operations Manager, Holly Allen, is a prime example of this and her experience at Wessex Internet has made her even more passionate about encouraging other women into the industry;

‘I have been offered the opportunity to increase my engineering knowledge and skills by means of an internal promotion within Network Operations. I want to encourage other women to be confident about pursuing a career in engineering and in turn making the industry more women inclusive.’

Speaking with our Junior Network Designer, Tessa Young, we found out exactly who inspired her to pursue a career in engineering:

“I'm responsible for designing fibre optic networks. Using GIS software, I map fibre optic cable routes and work on supporting documents for designs. My background is in Geology, specifically Palaeontology, GIS and Spatial Analysis. My choice to study a STEM subject was highly inspired by my mother. She was the first woman in the UK to register her company in the Construction Industry Scheme, today the company is running as a leading Civil Engineering firm. Without her to look up to, telling me nothing is impossible, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Having flexibility and adapting will bring you the best opportunities and really will take you places you never thought you would be.”

Not only did we want to find out why these determined women chose a career in engineering, we wanted to find out why they still love what they do now. Izzy Alfrey works alongside our civils team and shared with us what makes her love her role so much:

“Working in construction is like being a small cog that helps to keep the bigger machine moving, both literally and figuratively whilst having the opportunity to learn about new technology and equipment. Network Build is constantly evolving and growing and it’s great to play a small part in that.”

Melissa Clarke, our PIA Manager added to this saying

“No two days are ever the same in our industry! With endless growth and opportunities, you can really make the career you want.”

Due to company growth, we have a lot of different roles available at Wessex Internet, with new roles coming up all the time. If you would like to work alongside some of the fantastic women on our team, then check out our careers page to find out more and apply.