Jovita

Why did you choose to come to UTCN? And what was your favourite thing about UTCN?

The reason I decided to move to UTCN was because I want to experience a different environment, something that was different to the high I attended at the time. I then stayed on for the sixth form because from my experience at UTCN I knew I wanted to pursue a career in engineering.

How has your apprenticeship been so far?

My apprenticeship has been very classroom based due to the circumstances of this year, the COVID-19 pandemic. But I have still had the chance to take part in survival training, which I found quite intense and also practical work on pneumatic and hydraulic rigs.

What does “breaking stereotypes in engineering” look like to you? And how does it feel to know you are doing just that?

In order to break stereo types in engineering we need more women to be introduced to the industry. Knowing that I’m not the stereotypical individual to be working in the engineering industry makes me feel proud of myself and I hope that I can be an example to other girls that want to peruse a similar career in the future. I offer a whole new perspective to the world of engineering, as do the entire next generation of young engineers. From my time at UTCN I feel like I have been given a lot of good experience because I have been introduced to real working environment earlier than most 18 year olds.

What are your tips for the current Year 13s who may want to take a similar path to you?

My biggest piece of advice to the current Year 13s would be to pay attention to all of your teachers and take advantages of all the opportunities that are presented to you. Being able to reflect on my time at UTCN, I now realise how fortunate I was to be able of had to opportunities that I did.