More support from age 15 could help encourage more women into engineering apprenticeships, according to a new report.

The research, by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, together with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, suggests women who choose engineering tend to make career decisions later than male peers, and therefore initiatives should be broader and focus on young women aged 15 to 25.

It says women with interests in creative crafts and arts should also be targeted.

Broader approach

While over the past five years, the emphasis on attracting girls to technology and engineering has been on activities to inspire at the last stages of primary and the first three years of secondary school, there are a large number of girls who might select an engineering pathway post-16, according to Never Too Late: Profiling Female Engineering Apprentices. This, however, would require more initiatives to encourage them after leaving school.

Programmes for attracting women to become engineering apprentices should also be broadened and aim to include those with interests in creative crafts and the arts. Female apprentices have been shown to be more interested in these areas than their male peers and less likely to favour technology and “tinkering”.

Right opportunities

“Female engineering apprentices are something of a rarity but there is no evidence that they are a ‘breed apart’” says Peter Finegold, head of Education at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and lead author of the report. “The UK school population may include many more young women who could be attracted to this career route, given the right opportunities.”

The research, published today, surveyed current and newly qualified female and male apprentices as well as non-engineering apprentices to identify the characteristics of female apprentices.

Women are under-represented in many science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) areas, but that gap is particularly stark in engineering apprenticeships where just 8 per cent of apprentices are female.

Report recommendations

• Employers, FE colleges and other organisations should broaden their targeting to include young women with interests in creative crafts and the arts.
• Engineering careers initiatives should develop programmes that target young women aged 15-25
• The engineering community should ensure that it offers practical support and advice to organisations who wish to promote the value of engineering apprenticeships in schools.
• EngineeringUK, along with its partners in the engineering community, should draw on the report’s findings, as they work together to reposition the Tomorrow’s Engineers programme
• STEM Learning Ltd should recruit a cadre of female engineering ambassadors