Recognising the importance of engineering role models

To celebrate National Engineering Day on 13 November, we spoke with QEPrize Ambassador, Emily Backhouse, about her route into engineering and how she found her own role models along various stages of her career. Learn more about Emily's career and what she's doing to be a role model for future generations.

My interest in the energy industry started when I was 14. My school hosted a speaker from a local power station, and I was enthralled. From the way he spoke about his role as an engineer, it was clear that he loved his job and the industry. This was such an inspiration to my younger self, and a complete eye opener to a whole range of possible careers. The idea that something we use every day was made from heat and spinning metal was just so mind boggling to me, I had to know more.

For my A Levels, I studied maths, physics and German with a view to go on to study engineering at university. During A Levels, I decided I didn’t want to follow the typical route of going to university, and instead wanted to start a career. This was greatly encouraged by my best friend who was going into the RAF as an officer. Together, we were the oddities and received very little support from our school that held the very traditional view that the only route into a career was a degree. This didn’t deter us – we supported each other through applications and interviews, and by the time results day came around, I had higher apprenticeship offers from two large engineering companies. Even now, we continue to support each other as women in STEM. It’s so lovely to see a friend that is thriving in their role and to be able to motivate each other as we develop in our careers.

Eight years ago, I chose National Energy System Operator (National Grid at the time) for the wide range of training they delivered as part of their engineer training scheme. During the two-year apprenticeship, I received a Foundation Degree in Engineering (FdEng) in Electrical Power Engineering, attended numerous training courses on business skills, spent time on site and in project teams in the office, and even got to accompany the overhead line checking team in their helicopter. My experiences as an apprentice have led me to strongly advocate for this as a route into any career. There are so many ways to become an engineer, whether it is through further education, on the job training, or a career change later in life. Engineering is for everyone and my favourite thing about engineering is that there is a place for everyone to follow their interests and find their niche.

When I graduated from my apprenticeship, I joined one of our employee resource groups – Pride. I got to know new people from lots of different business areas and learn about their experiences. This was so inspirational as I got to see the wide range of career paths that had brought everyone to where they are now. No one’s career path was the same, and everyone came from a different background. When one of the co-leads stepped down, I was inspired to become the new co-lead after seeing the work the wonderful group of colleagues on the steering group did. This gave me lots of experience working with senior leadership, collaborating with multiple functions as well as being visible across the business as part of all Pride events. Alongside Pride events, volunteering highlights for me have been attending careers fairs, inspiring future engineers at the Big Bang Fair and volunteering for our COP26 stand in 2021 where I got to learn lots about the sustainable future for energy and how we will get there! All these experiences have allowed me to work with some of my role models within the business, but also to learn how I can become a role model to others as well.

I was also lucky enough to hear about the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering and attend the presentation ceremony in 2017. Seeing the amazing work the QEPrize Ambassadors did to raise the profile of engineering and mentor young engineers was incredible and I simply had to join! I was really drawn to the QEPrize as it champions the best in engineering innovation, while lifting up the future stars in our industry. The QEPrize Ambassador Network does so much to inspire the next generation of engineers through initiatives like the Create the Trophy competition, school outreach and showcasing role models from every background, so I'm pleased I can be a part of this.

Fast forward to the present, I have held positions working with electrical interconnectors from a GB system perspective, been the business lead on IT projects, and I am a subject matter expert for a range of processes in system operations. I also still volunteer with DEI events and am still a QEPrize Ambassador. A lot of my knowledge and skills have come from taking the time to sit with people and fully understand how what they do fits into the bigger picture. Listening to people and discussing why it is that they do what they do is a brilliant way to build skills and confidence as an engineer as well as building a wider network than your immediate team.

My advice to any aspiring engineer is to ask lots of questions and to get involved as much as possible. Happy National Engineering Day!

Learn more about National Engineering Day 2024 here.