STAGECOACH MANCHESTER ENCOURAGES MORE WOMEN TO EXPLORE CAREERS IN ENGINEERING

08 Mar 2023

Local bus provider, Stagecoach Manchester, has today announced the launch of a new campaign - ‘Engineering My Future’, to encourage more women to pursue engineering as a career. The operator aims to address the under representation of women in both the engineering and transport sectors and has launched its campaign to coincide with International Women’s Day.

Across Greater Manchester, Stagecoach has 130 skilled engineers who ensure vehicles are maintained and able to meet the demand for travel every day. However, only 3.1% of their skilled engineer workforce are women.

The ‘Engineering My Future’ campaign features three of Stagecoach Manchester’s engineers, Karen, Jess and Chelsea. The campaign sees the women explaining how they got into a career in engineering and what it involves.

The campaign will be used to help promote opportunities through Stagecoach’s engineering apprentice programme and to encourage more women to apply. Many of Stagecoach Manchester’s apprentices have gone on to be managers and even Engineering Directors after completing their studies and going into employment with the company.

Janine Summers, Regional Director at Stagecoach and a driving force behind the campaign said: “It’s a privilege to be launching our Engineering My Future campaign this International Women’s Day.

“At Stagecoach, we are committed to supporting and promoting women across the transport sector, so we would love to see more women starting their careers with us and coming through our ranks. As we emerge fully from the pandemic it’s an exciting time to join the transport industry and embark on a new career in engineering. The introduction of electric buses adding to the attraction. I’d urge any woman to explore her options and consider engineering as their career path. This is the beginning of something special at Stagecoach.”

The launch of the campaign is part of Stagecoach’s wider commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive working environment, aiming to attract, recruit and retain a diverse workforce. It has set targets of achieving 40% of women in leadership roles and 25% of its workforce identifying as being from ethnic minorities by 2026.

Stagecoach has employee-led diversity and inclusion networks, including those supporting women and in the last 12 months these networks have led on developing new family friendly policies such as miscarriage, maternity, paternity and adoption leave.

Rebecca Rathore, Operations Director at Stagecoach Manchester said, “Women have long been underrepresented in engineering, especially in the transport sector. Stagecoach Manchester is committed to changing that and helping women achieve their full potential.

“Working in public transport is enjoyable and rewarding and our depot teams are supportive and friendly places to work. It’s one big family.”

Lee Wasnidge, Managing Director at Stagecoach Manchester, said: “Stagecoach recognises that people of all genders and backgrounds are fundamental to our success. We have a duty as a responsible employer to create a diverse and inclusive team that reflects the communities we serve.

“Gender diversity is a crucial business issue and this new campaign is a real chance for us to change the face of engineering in public transport.”