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Female graduates get the lowdown on engineering careers at British Sugar

2 June 2014

Peterborough, 28 May 2014: Eight female engineering (chemical) graduates from Strathclyde got the chance to learn about engineering opportunities in the sugar beet industry when they spent a day at British Sugar’s Newark site recently.

The open day was organised by British Sugar after the company teamed up with other major UK employers to support the recent Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Student Colloquium at the University of Huddersfield. The event targeted female engineering, maths and physics graduates from all over the UK and promoted the diverse career opportunities available to female graduates in engineering. 

The graduates visited British Sugar’s Newark site to learn more about engineering in the sugar beet industry by taking a closer look at the whole processing operation. They also had the opportunity to talk to fellow graduates on British Sugar’s own graduate programme, as well as those who now have a career in engineering after completing the programme.

British Sugar Managing Director Richard Pike said: “As a business we know the importance of harnessing and nurturing talent, but it’s clear that women are not well represented at a senior level in our industry. For me, this is a huge missed opportunity and something we need to understand and address.

“Almost half of female engineering graduates leave the field after university, so it’s crucial that we support organisations like WISE and hold open days like these so we can highlight the wide range of engineering careers that are available to them.”

The day ended with a Q&A session and a presentation of an iPad to the winner of a quiz that was held at the WISE event.