OREANDA-NEWS. June 30, 2015. Female engineers from across SSE have been supporting the talent of tomorrow at an inaugural networking day in Perth.

The launch of the SSE Women in STEM Forum coincided with National Women in Engineering Day (NWED).

It gave the women of SSE a chance to meet their colleagues as well as welcoming the new intake of female trainees who are joining SSE this summer.

Gary Hamilton, Technical Skills Manager at SSE, said: “The Women in STEM Forum is an ideal platform for our female engineers to share their experiences with the next generation and support SSE’s diversity agenda.

“Research shows only 4% of girls are leaving school with STEM qualifications, potentially shutting them off from a career in engineering at a young age.

“SSE has set itself a target for the number of women joining as Technical Skills Trainees, Graduate Trainees and Apprentices and we have already exceeded this.”

The event was held at the Mercure Hotel and began with a networking lunch followed by discussions on diversity and the challenges faced by women working in engineering.

Senior girls from Perth High School also joined the round table discussion to be talk about what can be done to encourage more girls to take up STEM subjects.

After an afternoon of debate and discussion, all suggestions and ideas will be looked at with the aim of building a community where successes, challenges and opportunities can be shared amongst mentors and trainees.