Isabel
“My name is Isabel Mead, I am 16 years old, and I joined Bradbury as an engineering apprentice in March 2016.
Whilst at school, I worked part-time before going on to study A Levels at college. However, I was only there for a short amount of time before realising that this path wasn’t for me. My sister suggested that I look into engineering and I decided that this was the field I wanted to work in, so I joined HETA on a mechanical engineering course.
At HETA, I learnt skills in mechanical maintenance, hand-fitting, and pneumatics. My main interest was the design aspects of engineering, and I was lucky enough to be offered an apprenticeship through HETA in the technical department at Bradbury as a design engineer apprentice.
During my time at Bradbury so far, I have been given tasks such as modelling exit hardware and creating drawings for the other apprentices. The most challenging thing in my job is how specific everything needs to be, and the software can be really challenging at times. However, I am already starting to come to terms with SolidWorks!
Engineering is still seen as a typically masculine career. When I was at school, there was an assembly held by HETA to inform students on engineering, but only boys were invited to attend! Schools and colleges should make engineering a clearer option for girls, as well as boys, through assemblies and information days.
If you’re a female thinking of pursuing a career in engineering, don’t feel intimidated by the statistics! I was intimidated by working in engineering as it is seen as a male-orientated field, but you don’t feel as isolated, as one of few girls, as you’d think. I enjoy engineering due to the fast-paced environments, the variety of tasks involved, and the many opportunities it presents.
After finishing my apprenticeship, I hope to continue working at Bradbury as a qualified design engineer, and be a part of the ever-expanding company family.”
