Business

Engineering apprentice from Larne named as one of UK's top 50 women in sector

Tammy Whelan has been listed in the Daily Telegraph’s top 50 women in engineering as part of international women in engineering day
Tammy Whelan has been listed in the Daily Telegraph’s top 50 women in engineering as part of international women in engineering day Tammy Whelan has been listed in the Daily Telegraph’s top 50 women in engineering as part of international women in engineering day

A civil engineering apprentice from Larne has been named as one of the UK’s top 50 women in the sector.

Tammy Whelan who is currently completing a Work+ apprenticeship at Arup in Belfast has been listed in the Daily Telegraph’s top 50 women in engineering as part of international women in engineering day.

The 30-year-old mum of two applied for the apprenticeship scheme when she was working at Arup as a part-time administrator. Leaving school with very basic GCSE’s she hadn’t much confidence in pursuing a career in engineering, now she is considered one of the most influential females in the sector.

“It’s crazy to be honest, I don’t think I realised how big it was going to be. I didn’t think I’d have got on the list to begin with because I’m an apprentice, so it was a bit of a shock really,” she said.

Alongside Tammy on the list are some of the UK’s most successful figures in engineering from directors to entrepreneurs and top female engineers.

Last week Tammy arrived in London where she picked up the award, this year she has also received an award for ‘learner of the year’ as well as a scholarship from the Institution of Civil Engineers.

As part of her apprenticeship Tammy goes to college one day a week where she is the only female in her year group. Because it is a part-time course it will take 7 years to complete but Tammy is dedicated and even says it helps encourage her daughter to do her homework in the evenings.

“She absolutely loves doing her homework because she knows that mummy has to do homework as well. So in a way that’s really good,” Tammy said.

Having a family and pursuing a career hasn’t stopped the young apprentice from doing well and this year she is finishing college with 12 out of 12 distinctions. Part of her motivation is her aim to one day be a director in the sector.

“My circumstances are different because I’ve had my children, I have two kids so it’s trying to have that work life balance. I would like to have that but at the same time I do want to be in that position one day,” she tells me.

Before she became a mum Tammy served in Iraq during her time in the armed forces. After leaving to start her family she got the administrator job in Arup where she took minutes for meetings. When on the sites she often thought about how she’d love to be doing what the engineers were doing.

“I always did like the thought of engineering, but when I was at school I didn’t like school so I didn’t leave with the best qualification's. I went off to the army, I always wanted to work so I kind of chased the work rather than the education,” she explained.

Tammy has worked on a number of wonderful initiatives aimed at reducing the carbon footprint and creating a better and sustainable future for all. She worked on the Connswater community initiative, one of her personal favourites.

“What a fantastic scheme, its amazing to be able to see all that open space and all the benefits that it will have for the community. That’s probably why it’s the most rewarding.

“What I find most satisfying is actually feeling like wow, we made a difference. It’s knowing that everything we do on a day to day basis is to better our surroundings and the people in it,” she told me.

When asked about the challenges women face in the sector Tammy spoke about her own positive experience instead.

“I think it can be hard (for female engineers) but I definitely think it depends on where you work, the people you work with and the kind of support network that you have around you.

“If you have those strong foundations then you will survive. I have all those things, I probably work for one of the best companies there is,” she laughs.

Arup aim to employ 40 per cent of women at all levels and are listed in the Times top 50 employers. The firm visits schools and career days throughout the year to encourage young women to study STEM subjects and consider a career in engineering.

“We try to explain to kids what engineers do we try to interact with them. I think the more that opportunities are made aware to young girls the better the reaction. We try to raise awareness for them to know they can do this as a job, its not just a man's job,” Tammy commented.

Tammy believes that the number of female engineers is on the increase and that the right encouragement will get more women into the sector.

She said: "It is a great career choice to have, we watched a video for the women in engineering society top 50 and I remember thinking, if I wasn't in this job I'd want to be now!"