23rd June 2022, marks the celebration of International Women in Engineering Day and we are proud to recognise our valued female ‘engineer heroes’ across the business. We are delighted to introduce you to Cheryl Saleem and her journey of becoming a qualified Telecoms Engineer and a selection of female engineers sharing their inspiration and tips for those who are considering becoming an engineer.
Kelly Group is harnessing the power of gender equality and we recognise the need to advocate equal opportunities within our industry. We are delighted to see a growing number of females joining our workforce every week. It is important that each of us carry on with the conversation around career opportunities for the future generation of engineers.
Cheryl Saleem – Trainee SD Engineer
"I started my journey with Kelly Group in April 2022 as a Trainee Service Delivery engineer. I’m currently working towards my two-day field assessment with the help of my buddy by completing customer installations, cabinet works and climbing telecommunication poles running a new drop wire to create a live connection if needed.
We start our day by meeting at the first address and reviewing our daily plan. Upon arrival, we introduce ourselves to the customer and discuss the possible location where they would like the connection to be installed within the property. After identifying which wiring and sockets are required, we start the installation process with testing and toning inside the property then, repeat this process at the local cabinet. Finally, we complete the jumper wiring, ensuring the circuit is up and running and goes back to the property.
What makes this job exciting is the variety of installations - I’ve visited residential customers, businesses and surgeries and it is always a new challenge. Travelling, providing a beneficial service for customers, and meeting different people makes the experience truly enjoyable.
The in-house training journey was a positive experience. I found the classroom activities helpful and informative. My personal highlights are learning how to attach and wire the master sockets
and the street works course. I am particularly proud of passing all training modules and the qualifications I gained while training at our national training centre in London. The biggest challenge I needed to overcome during the training period was pole climbing for the first time, because I had never been up on anything at height before. It was a little scary at first however, I learned to enjoy the task. I had so much support from the other trainees and national trainers. We had a class of 16 trainees attending the course - all of us supported and encouraged each other on the journey.
Being a female within a male dominated industry wasn’t challenging during my experience, everyone was very accepting although I was the only female trainee in the class. I would advise all women who would like to get into telecoms engineering to just go for it. Don’t be frightened or put off by the idea purely because of your gender. Don’t let anything hold you back from building your career. Changes are happening within our industry as I can see a growing number of female engineers joining the company and I am extremely proud to be part of the INWED 2022 celebrations and movement to encourage other women to consider engineering as a career path. I think there are plenty of opportunities for females to get involved in similar roles. My colleagues and I are speaking up about our own experiences hoping to inspire and invite more women to join us. Due to the number of female engineers growing within the industry, we will soon see more females featured in job advertisements which, in my opinion, will encourage even more individuals to apply.
I decided to pursue this career path simply because I love the idea of actively being involved in making decisions, doing practical work and doing something worthwhile. I came across the opportunity online and was speechless when they offered me the position. I look forward to the future and the next steps within my career.
I think Kelly Group is a great place to work because of the support you receive from your managers and the high-quality training courses provided. Nothing is too much for them, all trainers take their time teaching you. If you do not understand something, they are always at the end of the phone alongside your manager. They are genuinely there to help you. I’m grateful for my team manager Russel - he is always there to support me."
Niamh O’Brien - Apprentice Fibre Splicer
"I joined Kelly Group 18 months ago. I started as a field trainee Fibre Splicer and then progressed into the Telecoms Engineer Apprenticeship, specialising as a Fibre Splicer. I have recently completed my Apprenticeship exams and am just awaiting my results. My personal influence to pursue a career in telecoms engineering came from my brother, Liam O'Brien, who works as a Fibre Splicer for Kelly Group. He's helped me settle into the role and through his expertise I am constantly developing my skills and knowledge. My advice to people who'd like to start their career within the industry would be to always trust your skills and ability, and never be afraid to ask for help!"
Lemmy Davies - Overhead Network Installation Engineer
"I joined Kelly Group in May 2022 as an Overhead Network Installation Engineer.
I have always wanted to be involved with the telecommunications industry; however, it was very hard to get a job due to my lack of my experience. When Kelly Group advertised a trainee engineer role with full training provided, I jumped at the chance to get involved and it worked out perfectly for me. It allowed me to work in the role, I always wanted. I am surrounded by fantastic colleagues who are constantly helping to develop my skills with daily support and patience.
One thing I have learnt in life is: that no matter how hard it may look, no matter how it may seem, a female and male are both capable of the same work and efforts as each other, nobody can tell you that you cannot achieve something because you're a girl.
At first, working within an industry dominated by males can be a little daunting. Even from a young age I played football and tried to earn my position in places where people doubted me just because of my gender. In every chance you get, don't try to prove to anybody else that you're capable, prove it to yourself – focus on why you can achieve it and don’t think about possible reasons why you cannot.
Females will always struggle to find the confidence to prove themselves when they feel they may not be able to match a male's effort in engineering. There is nothing you can't do, that a male can and believe me when I say everyone in this company states the same, they support females in their development and push them to their full potential. I felt welcomed as a female by all male colleagues within Kelly Group. I believe, that as more women are getting involved in the industry, we have more opportunities to show the other females in this world that you can do ANYTHING if you put your mind to it. I proved that to myself as soon as I joined Kelly Group and I am grateful for my confidence escalating purely based on the support I have received."
Georgina Schofield - Service Delivery Engineer
"I have worked for Kelly Group for 9 months as a Service Delivery Engineer connecting homes and businesses to the Openreach network providing phone and internet services. My role involves working inside the exchanges, street cabinets, and the distribution points to connect the customer with service at their property. I was influenced to peruse a career within the telecommunications industry by seeing other engineers working in the field, who all seemed happy and proud while working. I was fascinated by how the whole network works. After researching the role, I realized how fitting it was. I enjoy working outside, I’m not afraid of heights, the job keeps me fit, and no two days are the same. My advice for future female engineers is to always believe in themselves, make the most out of challenging technical situations, find experienced engineers and learn from them, and deliver on commitments, even if it means working harder than anyone else."
Gifty Antwi - Service Delivery Engineer
"I joined Kelly Group as a Telecommunications Service Delivery Engineer two months ago. After completing my studies in electronic engineering at university, I was keen to further my skills within the industry and decided to apply for the position. My tip for future female engineers is nothing is impossible. You can do anything you put your mind to regardless of your background. You've got this!"
Kelly Group has multiple career opportunities throughout the UK. We are always searching for talented individuals to represent our brand.
For more information, please call the Kelly Recruitment team on 02037583058.
Alternatively, you can view current vacancies by visiting our careers page.
