Esmee Howard

I’ve always been interested in how things work and taking things apart. My dad is an electrical engineer so I had that exposure growing up; he was always showing me how to do things like wire fire alarms.

My favourite side of engineering is the CAD and design work. I want to be a design engineer as I enjoy following the product development process, taking ideas from design to the final product. Everyone approaches projects from a different angle and I like how creative it can be. Once there’s a problem there are multiple ways to approach it and find the best solution. When your designs finally work together it’s a really satisfying feeling.

As part of my apprenticeship with Renishaw, I’m working in the Diversity and Inclusion team where we promote inclusivity and raise awareness internally. It’s something I really like doing. There was an image that engineering means an old dirty workshop, but engineering has developed and changed a lot in recent years. I hope more women are interested in engineering and that will keep increasing until we reach a more equal playing field.

My overall goal is to end up in management; engineering needs more female managers. I don’t want to be held back because I’m in the minority and things aren’t going to change unless we have more women going for it and joining the industry.