This week, Reliance Precision Limited (‘Reliance’) welcomed students from local schools to its Huddersfield site to take part in engineering activities to mark International Women in Engineering Day (INWED). The events, held on the 22nd and 23rd of June were designed to highlight the impact female engineers have on our lives, with the aim of encouraging more young women into the profession. Both days were organised and hosted by Reliance employees, Daisy Brooke (Manufacturing Technician – Turning), Lucie Harding (Apprentice Machinist – Milling) and Carys Lees (First Year Apprentice).
INWED is a global awareness campaign started in 2014 by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES). WES’ mission is ‘to support women in engineering to fulfil their potential and support the engineering industry to be inclusive’.
The format of the day was the same for both groups of students, who were given a short introduction to engineering and INWED before going on a tour of Reliance’s manufacturing facilities. Following this, they took part in a series of engineering-related activities including:
Creating an electrical circuit, one with a fan and one with and LED light. The first team to complete both won.
A competition to see who could build the tallest spaghetti and marshmallow tower.
A paper rocket challenge.
A design task where the students were required to sketch and annotate a drawing working to a design brief.
Daisy commented: “We wanted to host this event to introduce young women to engineering and to highlight the wide range of career pathways available in the field. I was inspired to pursue engineering after attending a school talk by a representative from Reliance, so it felt important to create a similar opportunity for others. It was fantastic to see how engaged the students were throughout the visit. Lucie, Carys and I really enjoyed planning and delivering the event, and we hope the students enjoyed it too!”
Robert Farrell, Training School Manager, said: “Daisy, Lucie and Carys did a great job of organising and running the event which reflects Reliance’s ongoing commitment to community engagement and education. Women remain underrepresented in engineering roles, making initiatives like this crucial in closing the gender gap. By working closely with local schools, we hope to support skills development and encourage greater diversity within the engineering sector.”
