Teesside sister duo set sights on STEM careers

Two Teesside sisters have bucked the trend of women in STEM, by climbing the ladder in both the science and engineering sectors.

Statistics show that women make up only 12 per cent of all STEM employees in the UK, yet 18-year-old Klaudia Robinson, from Hartlepool, swapped her young aspiration becoming a hairdresser for a career in engineering, thanks to an insight in to the world of STEM careers provided by her older sister.

Klaudia, a management trainee at Seymour Civil Engineering and is currently studying for a HNC in building studies at Hartlepool College of Further Education, said: “I don’t think girls really think of careers in science, maths, engineering and technology as options when they’re at school because there are so many more stereotypically feminine subjects and career routes that you are more aware of.

“All through school, I wanted to become a hairdresser but when I got a taste of a career in STEM, thanks to my sister Kensey, I quickly changed my mind.”

Kensey Robinson, 20, started her journey in to STEM when she completed an apprenticeship through Hartlepool College, with the Hartlepool based medical diagnostics company, Hart Biologicals, in 2015.

Since then, Kensey has gone on to work as a Lab Technician, working on a number of the firm’s largest projects.

She added: “Whilst at school I’d never thought about going in to a science-related career, but I was really enjoying the subject so one of my career advisors brought to my attention the apprentice vacancy at Hart Biologicals.

“During my first year of college, studying for a BTEC in additional science, I was the only girl in a class of boys, headed by a male tutor.

“It didn’t faze me, as I wasn’t worried about being the only girl, but having female role models for young girls to look up to is important. I hope one day I can be a role model to young girls interested in a career in science.”

Both Klaudia and Kensey have been involved in promoting STEM careers to school and college students in the region, accompanying Seymour Civil Engineering and Hart Biological’s STEM ambassadors to careers events and open days across the North East.

In addition, Klaudia has also become a CITB ambassador.

Klaudia concluded: “During my time at college, I have always been one of very few women. It’s something that I’m used to now and it’s only when I stop to think about it that I realise just what a difference in gender there is in engineering and construction.

“As a whole, when you see images representing STEM careers, they tend to show men busy working on a construction site, men in a science lab, or male maths teachers in the classroom. Those images reinforce the perception that those industries are for men.

“Kensey is the reason I decided to go for an apprenticeship, and I’m truly grateful that I got the insight into STEM from her that I did. My career in engineering, working for Seymour, has been fantastic so far as no two days are ever the same. With new projects coming in all the time, I always have something new and exciting to work on.”

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