MORE than 160 students and teachers had a valuable insight into a career in engineering when they visited high access platform manufacturer Niftylift’s headquarters in Milton Keynes for the company’s annual Women in Engineering event.
They were joined by Milton Keynes Mayor Clr Amanda Marlow and Debbie Brock, High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, both of whom described the day as “interesting” and “inspiring”.
Niftylift has hosted the event for the past six years, aiming to break down traditional engineering stereotypes and encourage young females to embrace science, technology, engineering and maths and to take up a career in engineering.
The two-day event was Niftylift’s largest to date and welcomed students and teachers from Watling Academy, Oakgrove, Thornton College, Bridge Academy, Denbigh, Ousedale, MK Academy, Shenley Brook End, Radcliffe and, for the first time, Hazeley Academy, Kents Hill Park, Northampton High and Silverstone UTC.
The days included factory tours, production assembly tasks, Control and Hydraulic Systems demonstrations, a 3-D CAD workshop, purchasing and supply chain activities. The students heard from Niftylift’s female staff about their routes into their chosen careers before taking a ride in Niftylift’s tallest machine the HR28 Hybrid, giving the students a stunning view of the Milton Keynes skyline from 28 metres up.
Niftylif’s marketing manager Simon Maher said: “By championing the discipline’s creative aspects and inspiring young females, Niftylift hopes to encourage a new generation of female engineers to take their place in an exciting, vibrant and growing industry.”
Mayor Cllr Marlow pictured above said: “It was a genuinely interesting visit and I found it incredibly inspiring to see how valued women are in engineering. Walking around the various activities that had been planned and run by apprentices for visiting schools, you could not fail to see how interested the girls were in what they were being shown and taught.
“I really hope that a lot of the young women who visited Niftylift will be inspired by the manufacturing tour and will pick engineering as a career, choosing an apprenticeship pathway.”
- Find out more about Niftylift’s Women in Engineering initiative at www.niftylift.com/women-in-engineering.
