Engineers Australia is actively working in the community, across schools and the tertiary sector to encourage more people to consider engineering including supporting Girls+ Engineering Tomorrow.
The Girls+ Engineering Tomorrow (GET) program is an outreach initiative designed to inspire and connect like-minded female high school students with an interest in STEM.
Students learn about engineering by connecting with industry mentors, participating in workshops and being informed on engineering study and career pathways.
The program is aimed at increasing the visibility of engineering amongst female high school students and supports their pathway towards tertiary engineering studies.
One mentor Adriana Cullen, MIEAust CPEng NER is a senior electrical engineer and says the program is fantastic.
“I wish they had this around when I was a teenager. Many are unaware of what exactly an engineer does, and this gives them so much exposure.
“Knowing that I have somehow helped, even in a small way, in ensuring more young women think of engineering as a great career path is so rewarding,” Adriana says.
The program has been running for two years, with more than 85 Year 11 students completing ten Saturday morning sessions at Curtin University. There have also been three industry site visits including FIFO visits to the Pilbara.
After completing the program, most students reported having a better understanding of what engineering is, of what engineers do, of engineering careers and study pathways. All participants said they would recommend the GET program to a friend.
WA General Manager Susan Kreemer Pickford says “research carried out by Engineers Australia found the main reason stated by women for not choosing to study engineering was a lack of familiarity of engineering and little awareness of what engineering involves.”
Supporting programs such as the GET program is a way to help bridge that gap in understanding. It provides the opportunity for Engineers Australia members to demonstrably share their own career experiences and relay the key message to prospective student engineers that working in engineering can be dynamic, challenging, and impactful.
Click here to find out more about the program.
