LAUREN’S SHIP HAS COME IN
Apprentice working on £3.7bn Navy frigate contract
A TEENAGE girl helping design the Royal Navy’s next generation of warships on the River Clyde has encouraged more women to get involved in engineering.
Lauren MacNeil, 18, is changing the face of a traditionally male-dominated industry after starting with military weapons giants BAE as an apprentice last year.
She is now working at the firm’s Scotstoun base on a £3.7billion contract to manufacture eight new Type 26 frigates, which will form the backbone of the Navy’s attack force in coming years.
Lauren, from Balloch, Dunbartonshire, said: “I was interested in maths and physics at school and thought about going to university but I prefer learning in practical ways rather than sitting in lectures.
“Then BAE came to my school and gave a presentation about the apprenticeship programmes and I thought it would be perfect for me.
“I went through the process, an assessment day, team working, team building, then an interview. “A couple of days later, I heard back that I had been accepted. I was so pleased, it was great. “I’m an engineering technician apprentice so I am involved in the design of the Type 26. I can look out of the window and see the warship I’m working on being created – it’s incredible. “I’m working with the layouts team on a compartment of the ship at the moment. You need to set it all out and decide what needs to go in. “I think more girls should think seriously about engineering. It is a great career. I would encourage them to get involved. It’s challenging and rewarding and you work with loads of great people, men and women, every day.
“It is still a male-dominated environment but it is changing and, as a girl, it really is a good place to work.
“Of the 18 apprentices taken on with me, three were girls but at the end of the day I don’t mind who I work with because we are all one big team.”
BAE have 1600 UK apprentices, with women making up 27 per cent of those recruited in 2017.
The Type 26 antisubmarine frigates are being built as part of a contract helping safeguard 3400 jobs at the Clyde shipyard and in the rest of the UK.
The first, HMS Glasgow, will enter service in the mid-2020s.
Lauren added: “I spent the first year of my apprenticeship at Anniesland College, where I did some qualifications and got some practical knowledge. Now I am in second year and that and third year are a series of placements around the business.
“In terms of what I will do in the future, I’m waiting to see how my placements come together to see what my strengths are but I want to stay within BAE.” BAE’s apprenticeship applications deadline for this year is February 28.
More girls should think seriously about engineering
LAUREN MacNEIL