Today is World Book Day, which gives me the perfect excuse to dig into one of my favourite hobbies – reading. I’ve always spent a lot of time with my head in a book, and I try to read a wide range of styles…although I am guilty of often returning back to my favourites over and over again. I think reading is such an important thing for everyone to do as much as they can, which is why I wanted to share some of my favourites and recommendations to you today. I also always love getting book recommendations from people, so please get involved and comment your favourite books and authors! I’m very lucky in that I can read pretty much anywhere, so when I am travelling that is basically my go to activity. When I was a kid and we’d go on holiday in the car to France, I…
Are you looking for ways to boost your engineering career, whilst also giving back to your community and inspiring the next generation of engineers? Volunteering as a STEM ambassador is an incredible way to achieve all three of these goals! In this article I will explain what a STEM ambassador is, five key benefits to volunteering and finally I will share details on how to join the program (when I’ve managed to convince you to sign up!). Hopefully this will give a great insight into the STEM Ambassador programme, which I have been a part of since I joined JCB back in 2015. This year I received my 50 hours of volunteering certificate, which I am very proud of. My STEM Ambassador certificate for 50 hours of volunteering with the programme so far As a disclaimer for my readers outside of the UK, this is heavily focussed on the British…
There are now over 100,000 organisations in England who employ apprentices, which is an absolutely brilliant milestone for the country to have achieved. This does however mean that it can be a little overwhelming when it comes to choosing the right apprenticeship, which is where the new ‘league table’ for top employers comes into its own. The ‘Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers’ celebrates outstanding employers for their commitment to hiring apprentices, putting them through great training programmes and then offering career progression or further studies. The rankings have been developed by the National Apprenticeship Service in partnership with High Fliers Research, who have independently assessed the companies to produce this league table. Employers from all industries and sectors are eligible to apply to be ranked, which means this league table will offer a great overall comparison for people who are weighing up their options. The top three apprenticeship employers for 2020…
In July this year, the hedgehog species was classified as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List for British Mammals (Source: https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/british-hedgehog-now-officially-classified-as-vulnerable-to-extinction/). This was a really sad reality check which makes us all realise that our natural wildlife in the UK is becoming more threatened as the days go by. Just take a moment to think about the last time you saw a hedgehog in the wild? We used to frequently get hedgehogs in the garden when I was a kid, but that’s something that hadn’t happened for a long time….until now! We were approached by the Shropshire Wildlife Trust who were carrying out a hedgehog population survey led by their Hedgehog Officer Kathryn Jones in our village. She visited us back in July with a motion-sensor camera which we were skeptical would catch more than the neighbour’s cats, but amazingly we…
Today is World Mental Health Day, which is a super important day to raise awareness and general understanding of mental health. Even with all of the available resources and high-profile figures spearheading campaigns to get people talking about their mental health, this still continues to be a taboo topic and something that many people shy away from discussing. Personally I am a huge advocate for people’s mental health being one of the most important things to take care of, as I have experienced struggles myself but I’ve also seen the devastating impact that poor mental health can have on sufferers and the people around them. I think too often it is overlooked and physical health is prioritised, but actually mental health issues can have a much greater impact on your life than physical ailments. There are so many things you can add into your day to really make a difference…
September has seen the launch of my blog, which I have been really overwhelmed by the responses from everyone…so if you’ve reached out, shared my blog or even become a subscriber – THANK YOU! I had good old imposter syndrome working away at me which almost made me give up on launching as I didn’t think anyone would be interested in what I have to say. But I’ve been proven wrong, so I’m going to keep writing and hopefully keep improving as I go! This last month I’ve introduced myself and my motivation behind starting this blog, and introduced my main subjects of the daily life as a female engineer, mental health in engineering and becoming a professional engineer. I’ve also touched on hydrogen powered vehicles and changing brakes on my 17 year old van! What was your favourite article from last month? As we head into another new month…