Industry data shows that more and more young women are pursuing careers in technology
The stereotype of manufacturing as a male domain is fast being broken down as more young women pursue careers in the industry, data from a trade body shows.
The perception that the sector is low-paid and male-dominated has changed significantly in recent years, Make UK said in its report.
Nearly half of parents view manufacturing as a well-paying career and more than a third were happy to see their daughter go into the industry, compared to just 14 percent five years ago.
A number of companies said they had seen a big increase in the number of girls taking up apprenticeships.
Warren Page of Xtrac, a Berkshire-based company that specializes in making high-quality gearboxes for racing cars, said the company had seen a spike in the number of female apprentice applicants since the end of the Covid pandemic.
Challenging stereotypes: A number of companies said they had seen a big increase in the number of girls taking up apprenticeships
“This year, 40 percent of our interns are women,” he said.
In Worcester, engineering group C Brandauer & Co noted that the number of female apprentices has gone from two in five men in recent years.
“Young women have started to see technology as a career that inspires them,” says CEO Rowan Crozier.
“The industry has been working hard for a long time to dispel the misconceptions that it is a male-dominated, dirty and unsafe industry,” says Tony Haag, boss of West Midlands-based engineering firm PP Control & Automation, adding that half His company’s workforce now consists of women.