AWARD-winning Bradford engineering boss Joanna Robinson has urged more young people to consider the industry as a career.

To coincide with National Women in Engineering Day tomorrow, the managing director of air cooling systems manufacturer Mansfield Pollard, says Britain has the lowest number of women engineers in Europe at only nine per cent of the workforce.

Joanna, who recently won the Woman in Business prize at the Telegraph & Argus Bradford Means Business awards, has risen to the top in a male dominated arena both as a woman and a non-engineer.

She sees a key part of her role to encourage youngsters of both sexes to consider engineering as a career

Mansfield Pollard partners with educational establishments to explain that the profession works with cutting edge technologies and has excellent career prospects in an expanding market, for men and women alike.

Most recently, the company has established a strong working relationship with Skipton Girls High School, an all-girls engineering academy whose students are mentored by Mansfield Pollard engineers.

The company also continues to have strong links with Bradford College, from where it recently recruited its first female apprentice who is studying electrical engineering.

Joanna said: “In the UK, engineering has an image problem. Projections suggest that the UK will be short of thousands of qualified engineers in the next decade. Without harnessing the talents available from both genders, there is little hope of filling all of the roles that are needed by industry.

“Amongst the majority of the general public - and most acutely young people -there is a real lack of awareness about industry and manufacturing. Too often people imagine a picture of a factory floor and a man in overalls.

“The extreme shortage of women engineers in the UK shows that engineering is still a male dominated career with little diversity. A major part of my role is to educate and inspire young women, and to break down gender barriers by encouraging and supporting them to consider engineering as a profession.

“The industry can provide a long term career in a diverse and exciting sector where you will be welcomed and encouraged to succeed. I want to promote the fact that through hard work and determination you can progress through the ranks and make a difference in business.”

Joanna is the face a campaign by professional body BESA to promote women in engineering.