Network Rail is asking young women to consider science, technology, engineering and maths subjects and find out about the different careers across the rail industry, as part of a new engagement programme. Female employees are working with schools across the country to share their experiences of the rail industry.
On Monday (6 March), Network Rail announced its ‘20 by 20’ target to increase its take-up of female employees across the business to 20 per cent by 2020.Historically, the railway industry has been male-dominated and today only 16 per cent of Network Rail’s 35,000 workforce is female.
One of Britain’s biggest employers, Network Rail recognises it has a role in inspiring future generations about careers in the engineering sector. The pipeline of female talent entering the sector is low – the result of 50,000 girls turning away from a STEM education every year, says WISE .
Network Rail graduates Olivia Mansfield and Lucy Hutchinson kick-started the programme by hosting a workshop at all-girls school Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls in Romford, Essex. They asked students to think about their personalities, skills and interests to help suggest possible matches for jobs in the railway industry, and then discussed the qualifications they would need for those jobs.
