Ørsted have hosted 30 girls and non-binary people from Havelock Academy and Humberston Academy as part of a partnership with Women In Manufacturing and Engineering (WiME) at the East Coast Hub in Grimsby.
Now in its second year, WiME’s ‘Raising Aspirations’ programme in the Humber has grown following a successful and award-winning pilot in 2022. This year Ørsted partnered not only with Havelock Academy but Humberston Academy too. The aim of the programme is to inspire young girls and non-binary people to look at the renewable energy industry and careers in STEM as achievable and real opportunities. This has been done by meeting the real women in these jobs.
The students have previously had a session with Ørsted at their school, and this last session, a full day showcasing lots of different roles in the wind industry, from Offshore Coordinator to Media Manager to Wind Turbine Technician Apprentice.
The packed agenda included various exercises and opportunities to learn about the Humber jobs market seeing what roles are available, but most importantly they got to talk through their strengths and how to harness self-belief for their future. They had a chance to explore and question biases and stereotypes, meeting ten different women and hear about their roles, and even received a tour of Ørsted’s base at Humberside Airport where the helicopters that serve the largest offshore wind farm in the world fly from.
Joanne Woodhouse, Trust Wide Curriculum Lead at David Ross Education Trust, said: “We’re so pleased to work with Ørsted on this brilliant initiative. Our pupils were inspired to find out more of the careers available for them in the area, in STEM. The talks and time took by the different women in careers in renewable energy was incredible. Thank you so much.”
Lauren Little, Senior Stakeholder Advisor for Ørsted, said: “This is a huge and fast-growing industry and we want local girls to recognise the sector as a future career for them. We’re seeing more and more women and girls apply for roles every year, but we still have a way to go in increasing the women in our workforce. I believe that diversity makes the industry better. By introducing girls to female role models at school, they can start to see the opportunities. I really believe if they can see it, they can be it and with our support they know how to achieve it.”