Engineering her own future

With only 16.5% of women making up engineering in 2022, Norse Group realised the importance of breaking down barriers and encouraging more women into engineering roles.

Ella Thomson, a Year 10 student from Reepham High School, is the latest person to benefit from the Norse Group’s two-week work experience placement. Ella, interested in developing a mechanical and electrical engineering career, has been working with the Norse Consulting M&E Team under the guidance of Steve Buck and other colleagues based in the Aviation Academy in Norwich.

Taking to the Skies

As well as getting to know how M&E engineers design systems and build service infrastructures within Norse Consulting, the Group, through the Learning and Development Team, arranged for Ella and other work experience students to visit the Aviation Academy Engineering School, who carried out aviation mechanical and electrical engineering and maintenance.

An excellent visit was hosted by Alan Rampling, Director of Training for SaxonAir, along with engineering training staff, who showed Ella all the academy’s aspects of aviation engineering. The engineering trainers also allowed Ella and the other students to sit in the cockpit of the Boeing 737 training aircraft and see how parts of the plane were maintained and repaired.

In addition, Ella had briefings about some current M&E projects that the Norse Group has designed, including the new boilers and services plant installed at the NorseCare home at Bishop Herbert House in Norwich. Andy Moore arranged this visit in NorseCare and gave Ella a close-up view of installing the new boilers and heating system.

Working together to better future engineers

A staff member from Reepham High School visited Ella during her second week of work experience to review how the work experience placement was going from her perspective and how the Norse Group had found the overall process. Danielle Larcombe – Work Experience Co-ordinator – Reepham High School, said: “Reepham High School would like to thank the Norse Group for all the effort that is going into Ella’s work experience; it looks as though she is getting a full picture of everything that you do, a very comprehensive overview of the company”.

Paul Venn – Norse Group said, “It has been a pleasure hosting Ella, who has shown a genuine interest in all the aspects of mechanical and electrical engineering she has been shown and involved with during her work experience placement with the Norse Group. I want to extend thanks on behalf of Ella to Steve Buck and his M&E team colleagues, Andy Moore in NorseCare, Kim Robertson in Norse Consulting and also to Kirsty Shanahan in the Norse Group Learning and Development Team for coordinating/assisting with the work experience placement for Ella.