Women in Engineering Day: Q&A with Apprentice Emily Smith - Celebrating Engineering Excellence

Question 1: What is your current role within Siemens EA GB&I?

Currently, I am an Electrical Applications Engineering Apprentice, I design Medium Voltage Switchgear in ENG 6.

Question 2: What attracted you into a career in Engineering?

Maths and Art were my favourite subjects in high school as I enjoyed the problem solving and creativity of each of them. I always enjoyed making things which I found I had a strong interest in. As I got older, the interest developed to creating larger items such as flat pack furniture. This skill was very helpful when lockdown was announced and the whole family started working from home, requiring multiple desks, and filing cupboards to be built! When I was in year 11, I wasn’t sure what my next step, and had always thought I was going to take my A levels, but I decided to do a BTEC in Mechanical Engineering instead as it had the hands-on elements I enjoyed as well as Maths and CAD. ?

Question 3: How do you feel your role contributes to the wider Electrification and Automation business?

The Engineering team is the heart of the EA GB & I business and an integral part of our strategy plan for profitable growth, so it is great to feel part of the team to deliver this.

Question 4: What projects are you currently working on within your business?

The projects I have been working on recently are mostly 8DA projects – which is an exciting evolution of our switchgear offering. 8DA switchgear is becoming quite popular in the business and I am very grateful to be learning about it early on in my career as it is a type of switchgear that is adapting into a more sustainable version of itself.

Question 5: What do you enjoy the most about your role?

In my role I enjoy working on new projects the most as they are a fresh start, and you get to decipher and create something new and unique every time.

Question 6: Is there anything you could talk about that promotes females in Engineering roles at Siemens?

Siemens is a diverse company with a group of remarkable female engineers, and I was very lucky to join with a fellow female engineer. It is great to see Siemens nurturing female engineering talent- and provide an inclusive environment to learn.

The Apprenticeships at Siemens are an amazing way to get new talent into the business as they provide skills for the business such as responsibility, time management, organisation, networking in the real business world. ?