Young female engineer from Stone shortlisted for prestigious national award

Newcastle College and ABB apprentice Laurie Marshall recognised as engineering role model
Laurie Marshall, 21 from Stone, an engineering apprentice from Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC), has been announced as a finalist in the annual Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards run by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) to recognise the best and brightest young female engineers in the country.

The IET Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards highlight the achievements of inspiring young women who have chosen a career in engineering and encourage others to enter careers in engineering and technology.

Laurie was selected as a finalist in the Mary George Memorial Prize for Apprentices in recognition of her outstanding contribution within the workplace, as well as acting as a role model to other young people who are considering a future in engineering. If she’s named as winner, Laurie will receive a cheque for £750, an engraved trophy and certificate and will be invited to participate in high profile events, where she will get the chance to meet influential people and raise her profile within the engineering industry. The awards ceremony will take place on December 10 in central London and will be hosted by BBC Breakfast presenter Stephanie McGovern.

Laurie joined ABB Power Systems in Stone in September 2011, as part of her course at NULC and is currently an Apprentice Circuit Engineer, meaning that she works as part of a team designing protection and control systems, which are the “brains” of high-voltage substations. As an apprentice, Laurie balances a four-day working week with one day a week studying for a Foundation Degree in Electrical Engineering at NULC, meaning that she is developing valuable work experience as well as working towards a qualification.

Dave Halliwell Engineering Curriculum Leader at NULC said: “We are extremely pleased for Laurie and her accomplishments, she continues to show her hard work and dedication to engineering through both her work in the College and apprenticeship, we wish her all the best at the awards ceremony on December 10.”

Women currently represent just six per cent of the engineering workforce in the UK today, the lowest percentage in Europe. If this trend continues, the UK will be in a significantly weakened position to find the 87,000 new engineers needed every year over the next decade (according to Engineering UK 2014, the state of engineering report).

Laurie said: “Working as an apprentice at ABB is the best experience I could have asked for when starting off and it’s a real bonus to be shortlisted by the IET.”

ABB’s Head of Power Systems in UK and Ireland, Stephen Trotter said: “We’re really proud of Laurie’s achievement. As an apprentice engineer, the world is her oyster and she is developing skills and knowledge that will give her a rewarding and exciting career in engineering.”

IET Chief Executive Nigel Fine said: “We’ve been running our Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards for 38 years and have produced a number of fantastic female ambassadors for engineering as a result. 2014 has seen growing momentum from Government, industry and educators to encourage more girls to study science, technology, mathematics and engineering subjects, so it seems timely and appropriate to make find inspirational female role models who can support these efforts the key focus of our very successful Awards.”