22.07.2015

Nifty women

Niftylift has hosted a 'Women in Engineering' event at its new facility in Milton Keynes, UK

The event was organised as part of a national campaign to help break-down traditional engineering stereotypes and encourage young females to study and work in engineering roles. The Niftylift event was aimed at female students interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, to highlight some of the career opportunities available to them.

Girls from all of the secondary schools in the region were invited to the attend, with 65 students from seven local schools -Denbigh School, The Hazeley Academy, Milton Keynes Academy, Stantonbury Campus, St Paul's, Walton High and Milton Keynes College – taking part.

After an introduction by Niftylift founder Roger Bowden students went on a factory tour to learn about the company's processes and discover how many different disciplines contribute to building a Niftylift product.
Please register to see all images

Niftylift chairman Roger Bowden welcomes the students

Production engineering manager Dave Allen then gave a presentation on Lean Manufacturing, and discussed how Niftylift operates. This was followed by career talks from Thomas Merchant – a higher apprentice, Leah Holton – a business administration apprentice), Kirsty Pilbin - senior product design engineer, and
Jane Harbige a product support engineer), all of whom spoke about their roles at
Niftylift and their career routes into the industry.

Pilbin said: "The engineering industry has a considerable lack of women, and by reaching out to schools and targeting the younger generation, we can help demonstrate that engineering isn't just for boys!"
Please register to see all images

The girls head off on a plant tour

Deborah Gockelen of Milton Keynes Academy added: “Niftylift are not only a company who are making great strides within their industry but are outward-facing and keen to play their part in nurturing young talent. Wednesday's event was an inspiring introduction to the possibilities of an engineering career for girls who are interested in science, maths and design technology. The girls were particularly enthusiastic about being able to talk to female engineers and apprentices already in post, seeing these role models has given them confidence in pursuing their dreams."
Please register to see all images

65 female students attended the event