Niftylift Inspires Women in Engineering

Niftylift welcomes students to a ‘Women in Engineering’ afternoon at its new World Headquarters in Milton Keynes On Wednesday 8th July, Milton Keynes based Powered Access manufacturer Niftylift Ltd, hosted a ‘Women in Engineering’ event at its brand new World Headquarters in Shenley Wood, Milton Keynes. The all-female event was organised in recognition of the national Women in Engineering Day, which took place on Tuesday 23rd of June, to break-down traditional engineering stereotypes and encourage young females to study and work in engineering roles. Niftylift’s event was aimed at female students interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subject, to show them some of the career opportunities available to them within the design, engineering and manufacturing industries. All Secondary Schools in Milton Keynes were invited to the event and 65 female students from seven local schools (Denbigh School, The Hazeley Academy, Milton Keynes Academy, Stantonbury Campus, St Paul’s, Walton High and Milton Keynes College) attended the event. Following a warm welcome from Niftylift’s Chairman and Founder, Roger Bowden, the enthusiastic students went on a factory tour to learn about the company’s processes and discover how many different disciplines contribute to the building a single Niftylift product. Dave Allen (Production Engineering Manager) then gave a presentation on Lean Manufacturing, a key element of the business, which gave the students a better understanding of how the Niftylift operates. This was followed by career talks from Thomas Merchant (Higher Apprentice), Leah Holton (Business Administration Apprentice), Kirsty Pilbin (Senior Product Design Engineer) and Jane Harbige (Product Support Engineer), who each spoke about their roles at Niftylift and their career routes into the industry. Kirsty Pilbin commented: “The engineering industry has a considerable lack of women, and by reaching out to schools and targeting the younger generation, we can help demonstrate that engineering isn’t just for boys!” Following very positive feedback from the event, Niftylift, who only recently celebrated the opening of the Shenley Wood facility (along with its 30th Anniversary), hopes to arrange more events like this for students in the near future. Deborah Gockelen, Milton Keynes Academy commented: “Niftylift are not only a company who are making great strides within their industry but are outward-facing and keen to play their part in nurturing young talent. Wednesday’s event to mark ‘Women in Engineering Day’ was an inspiring introduction to the possibilities of an engineering career for girls who are interested in science, maths and design technology. The girls were particularly enthusiastic about being able to talk to female engineers and apprentices already in post, seeing these role models has given them confidence in pursuing their dreams.”

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