‘Girls can engineer’ message lands with new generation thanks to book launch

A new book aimed at getting more girls interested in engineering careers is proving a huge hit with schools and firms alike.

Girls Can Engineer is being requested by scores of schools across the country while firms are paying for their own copies to better engage with young people and attract them to careers where females are traditionally lower in number.

The key message is that there are no barriers to girls following careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) sectors, as National STEM Day was marked on November 8.

The book, published in June by West Midlands-based recruitment specialists Pertemps, is aimed at girls aged seven to nine.

Packed with fun facts and designed to inspire, it encourages girls to see themselves as future engineers.

Director Helen Hibbert, of Pertemps Network Group, said: “The response has been beyond what we imagined and all the feedback has been positive. We have now distributed around 4,000 copies and interest is continuing to grow.

“The project is all about attracting more females into engineering jobs. We won’t know the results for several years, but we hope we will start to see the gender gap in the sector closing.”

Currently, only 16.9 per cent of the UK workforce of engineers is made up of women, compared to 56 per cent in other professions.

Recently, Wolverhampton-based under-12s girls’ football team Northycote FC visited local firm ERA and Quanex, who have worked with Pertemps on the project, to hear more about women in engineering.

Team coach Mykal Whyton said: “A week after the visit, we had training and they were all still talking about engineering and the jobs they would like to do when they grow up.”

A hundred per cent of profit from sales of the book on Amazon go to the Tech She Can STEM charity.

You can buy copies of the book here.

Illustrations were supplied by pupils at Foxford School, in Coventry.