Foxwood Diesel bucks the national trend for female engineers

Foxwood Diesel is bucking the national trend for employing female engineers.  According to the Women’s Engineering Society (WNS) only 9% of the engineering workforce is female, putting the UK at the bottom of the league table in UK for the percentage of female engineering professionals.

However, with both Casey Allen and Leigh Worsdale on the workshop team, nearly 15% of the engineers at Foxwood Diesel are female, beating the national average.  And, according to WNS, companies that are gender diverse are 15% more likely to perform better.

Both Casey and Leigh are apprentices and joined Foxwood after completing their GCSEs.

Casey began working at the Foxwood Diesel when she was 15 as part of a work experience organised by her school, Brookfield Community School in Chesterfield.

After completing a two-week work experience with Foxwood, Casey’s passion grew for engineering and she worked for the company during her six weeks’ school holidays before being hired as an Apprentice when she completed her GCSEs in 2015.

She explained: “Originally I wanted to be a teacher but I also wanted to do something different. Being a massive fan of cars my dream job was to fix F1 cars in the pits, so I was really intrigued by engineering. Originally I intended to split my two-week work experience and a school but I loved the work at Foxwood so much that they agreed to let me stay for a second week.”

Leigh is owner Ken Worsdale’s daughter and joined the business in 2016 as an apprentice engineer, following her dad into the industry. She is now combining her work here with additional training at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).

Ken Worsdale, owner of Foxwood Diesel commented: “We hire the best at Foxwood Diesel, regardless of gender. It is about having passion, aptitude and talent which Leigh and Casey have by the bucket load. We’re a team here and support and respect each other which means we deliver the best service to our customers.”

With 64% of engineering employers in the UK saying a shortage of engineers in the UK is a threat to their business, it has never been more important to attract women to the sector.

If you’re interested in a career in engineering, get in touch with Foxwood Diesel and learn more about our work experience opportunities we offer, then get in touch