June 23 is International Women in Engineering Day. This is the 10th year in which this day has both promoted and celebrated the amazing work of women engineers across the globe. This year’s theme is #MakeSafetySeen.
Across Chemring, many talented women engineers are playing a vital role daily, encouraging more young women and girls to take up engineering careers.
To celebrate INWED, we spoke to Ingrid, HSE Engineer at Chemring Nobel (CHN), to find out what attracted her to a role in engineering and how it can be so versatile.
What is your current role at Chemring, and what does it entail?
My current role is as a Laboratory Technician, but I recently got the opportunity to step into a temporary role as an HSE Engineer, so very soon, I’ll switch over to the HSE department and work there for the next 15 months.
As a Laboratory Technician, I mostly prepare and analyse raw materials used in production and finished products and performed ex—wastewater analysis. The laboratory here at CHN is divided into three departments: crystallised products, granulated products, and an environmental laboratory, and usually, the training here as a Laboratory Tech begins with crystallised products and continues to granulated, finishing with environmental.
When I began as a Laboratory Technician right out of university, they had two other newly hired technicians in training, so I had to start in the environmental laboratory, which I quickly found out was no problem at all and I actually quite enjoyed the environmental aspect of what the Laboratory does. Since I started, I have completed my training in crystallised products and most of the analyses in environmental, but I will sadly not be able to begin my training with granulated products before I start in a new position.
My responsibilities as an HSE Engineer will be to oversee the production from an environmental aspect. My assignments will be, among other things, to ensure that our emissions are within our set target levels, same with our consumption (gas/petrol, electricity, water etc.) and that our wastewater is safe to release into the fjord. In this new position, I’ll be able to be more involved with different departments all across CHN and with the other companies within Chemring Group, which I’m very much looking forward to.
What attracted you to a career in engineering?
With engineering in general, I’d say that my dad (also an engineer) was my biggest inspiration, but for the direction within engineering that I chose, I’d say that the attraction was the fusion of subjects within physics, statistics, and biological and chemical automation.
Before applying to university, I read a lot about the different work and career possibilities with this engineering background. I found out that this was a perfect choice! I like to keep as many doors open as possible, especially when I’m still young and free to consider what I want.
That way, I can take opportunities far away or try something a little out of my usual comfort zone. In general, I’d dare to say that a career in engineering is a safe way to go and that it’ll also give you so many different paths to choose from as you go!
What qualifications do you have, and what was the gender diversity like on your course(s)?
I have a bachelor's degree in bioengineering. It may be called something different in other countries, but in Norway, this education covers the teachings of chemistry, biology and automation to be used mainly in medical/medical research laboratories.
In Norway, hospitals are the main employers of bioengineers, and there is, unfortunately, a huge difference, most probably because of the stereotype of women working in healthcare, far more women than men in my class. I think if more people saw this course’s potential with what kind of work opportunities you get outside of government-owned hospitals, gender diversity would change for the better.
What’s the gender diversity like in your department?
The laboratory team consists of three men and six women, excluding the Laboratory Manager, and we have three new additions to the team, two women and one man. In the HSE department, there are two women and one man, and the colleague I’m covering for the coming year is female, so the level of diversity will stay the same.
What do you find most rewarding about your job?
What I find most rewarding is the trust my experienced colleagues have in a newcomer like me, and especially the way that I have been given a lot of responsibilities, support, and opportunities to express my opinions and ideas in such a short amount of time.
Since this is my first “adult job”, I initially thought that this kind of responsibility and opportunity was something I’d have to work longer for than reality. CHN has shown itself to be a workplace where young professionals can rise quickly, and new ideas contributing to the company's further growth and development are well-received no matter where they come from. And as a young woman coming into the working adult life, that is highly appreciated and uplifting!
Women in Engineering Day theme this year is #MakeSafetySeen. Can you share any initiatives you’ve been involved with to ensure safety is paramount at work?
Labelling and filling out the belonging form correctly are a huge thing for me safety-wise. The laboratory receives extra assignments from other departments at CHN, for example, R&D, almost every day that requires specific tests, equipment, procedures etc., and to do those extra assignments safely, we must know what we’re dealing with.
I have constructed a template the other departments can use where vital info that must be filled out for our safety is highlighted, and less important information is highlighted in another colour. I made other templates, especially for semi-regular assignments we receive, and sent this out to every team leader and department manager that delivers extra samples and assignments to the lab.
Hopefully, that will catch on, in addition to my initiative to set aside or throw away unmarked samples or not appropriately described in their belonging form. One can almost see it as my calling for HSE type of work, so this next year in my new position as an HSE engineer, will be fitting.
What's your proudest career moment so far?
I’m most proud of being considered a good candidate and then asked by not just one but two HSE leaders to be the temporary HSE engineer, and this was happening within a year of the start of my employment at CHN at just 25 years old.
It wasn’t something I thought of for myself when the announcement was made that they were looking for a temp, I didn’t think I qualified for it, nor did I think it was something I would be able to handle. It felt like a huge step up from where I was, so when I was asked by my soon-to-be manager Candyce (HSE Manager) if this were something I would consider, I had to think about it for a couple of days.
During this time, my current manager, the HSEQ Director and one of the Project Engineers in a different department all came to me on different occasions and asked if I had considered applying for the temporary position as HSE Engineer. And that was the tipping point; I felt so reassured and supported, and not at all like a young, inexperienced 25-year-old.
My parents, friends and colleagues are so stoked and happy for me, and I’m very proud to be able to step into this role, a new chapter in my career, at CHN.
Do you have any advice for other women considering a career in engineering?
I’d like to say that a career in engineering is full of possibilities! Having to choose a career path at a young age can seem frightening because it can feel limiting, and who wants to wake up one day and think, “Oh, I chose wrong, and now I’m stuck with something I don’t feel passionate about”...?
But with engineering, there are so many different paths to choose from, and if you do wake up one day and regret the path you chose, there’s always demand for other types of engineers in which you can adjust what you currently know and work with to what demand there is.
And with technology and industry continually developing, expanding biomedical fields etc., there are just as many possibilities to fuse different types of engineering to tackle new obstacles.