Even as an engineering student at university in Toulouse, France, Fanny Fouin often found she was the only woman in the room. But Fouin, now UK fusion technical leader at engineering company Assystem, has never felt gender has been a disadvantage in her job.
“I work in a male-dominated field, but it’s never made me feel uncomfortable,” she says. “I started working at Assystem in France eight years ago, then moved to the UK in 2014 and have had the company’s support at every stage. Now I hold a senior position in the business, as well as working a four-day week and having a small child at home.”
Fouin is just one of the women Assystem has promoted through its ranks – and it’s keen to recruit and train more. The company, which is playing a major role in driving global energy transition programmes, is working hard to redress the gender imbalance in its industry with a new technical graduate scheme aimed at attracting more young women studying Stem subjects rather than just those with traditional engineering qualifications.
That women are in the minority in engineering is a simple fact – just 12% of the engineering workforce in the UK is female, according to figures from the Women’s Engineering Society. But numbers are increasing. And the Top 50 Women in Engineering awards – taking place virtually in June and sponsored by Assystem – aim to recognise the female engineers in Britain who have made a difference.
Simon Barber, UK managing director at Assystem, says: “The statistics lay the situation bare. The percentage of women studying engineering and technology degrees in the UK made up just 19% of total students between 2017 and 2018. Assystem’s new graduate initiative aims to increase the number of women in engineering by offering a more accessible route to female students into the nuclear industry. We aim to deliver this by targeting a broader group of women studying core Stem subjects, such as physical sciences, maths and computer sciences, as well as engineering, and by emphasising the exciting and varied opportunities for personal growth, plus job security, that a career with an energy transition company can offer.”
Assystem’s technical graduate scheme aims to recruit at least 100 women into key roles in its business over the next five years. Jill Partington, international marketing and communications manager at Assystem, says: “The scheme aims to get things moving in the here and now. Our three goals are recruit, retain and evolve. Recruit talented individuals studying Stem subjects. Retain that talent by creating a culture and working environment that supports women. Then, we must show how a woman can evolve in the organisation, giving them aspiration and a roadmap to progress in their careers into senior roles in the business.”
In practice, this means new recruits will receive on-the-job training and mentoring for up to 18 months to give them the necessary skills and experience to compete with those with more conventional engineering backgrounds. Partington adds: “A lot of roles demand suitably qualified and experienced personnel – SQEP for short – which means candidates must have work experience within certain regulatory environments. SQEP opens the door to senior jobs in engineering, but how do you get that experience in the first place? Our scheme will identify technically minded Stem subject graduates and give them that training.”
Another way Assystem helps its female employees’ career development is through its #IncredibleWomen gender diversity programme. This well-established initiative covers everything from the company’s policies affecting women – flexible working and generous maternity leave, for example – to providing female employees with access to networks, conferences, public speaking opportunities and coaching. Fouin says: “Having women in senior roles really inspires you and helps you to project yourself into your next move. That visibility, backed by genuine flexibility and support for women at all stages of their careers and lives, make this a very attractive place to work.”
Allie Pawezowski, recruitment operations manager at Assystem, is instrumental in the running of the #IncredibleWomen programme in the UK. She says: “Just one example of what we do is delivering training on how to write unbiased job adverts. Data shows using words such as ‘ambitious, confident and challenging’ in adverts speaks to men more than women. Good training can drive someone to change a process or sentence that could break down a barrier for another person.”
Fundamentally, the business wants to attract young women to jobs they might not have previously considered. Partington concludes: “As the energy mix is changing, with new technologies and renewables coming into place, we have to make sure women are at the heart of that change. If we can get women in today, they will be the engineering managers of tomorrow and the leaders of the future.”
If you want to be at the forefront of developing the UK’s low-carbon energy technologies then find out about Assystem’s graduate opportunities today
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