There is an extract from a
previous episode talking to
Laura Bassnett, an apprentice with Ernest Doe, Fyfield branch, the winner of the Technician for 2021 Awards organised by
LE-TEC, in which she talks about the reaction of friends and family to her new profession.
Host Chris Biddle then talked to the runner up in those Awards, Lauren Savage, an apprentice with Chandlers Farm Equipment, Bristol Branch (formerly Lister Wilder) who initially took an apprenticeship with a car dealership but who now vastly prefers working on tractors and farm machinery “It’s a really cool industry with something different every day.”
Poppy Burrough, is originally from Devon and just completing an engineering apprenticeship with JCB. She tells how, on leaving Kingston Maurward College in Dorchester, she approached a number of prospective ag engineering employers, one of whom told her that their workshop was 'no place for a girl'.
Finally, for a perspective on whether there is real transformation underway for an industry commonly regarded as male dominated,
Charlie Nicklin, the CEO of the
Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) and a member of the LE-TEC group says how encouraged he is to hear such enthusiasm for the industry. “Recruitment continues to be an issue,” he says, “but I’m sure we can attract more females if we showcase the industry better – and perhaps get the message across that it is about 'much more than tractors'."
As a further sign of recognition, the immediate Past President of IAgrE, Professor Jane Rickson is included in a listing of the Top 50 Women Engineers in the UK (see separate story in this issue)
