YEARS ago it wasn't the obvious profession for females.

Engineering has long been a male dominated industry - but the need to attract more women into the profession has never been greater.

The recent announcement that thousands of female engineers will be trained up as part of a 'national mission' to get Britain building again has been welcomed by Michelle Richmond from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

"It's great to see that Ed Milliband is making plans to tackle the engineering skills shortage. This is a very significant problem, contributing to skills shortages which damage the economy. The shocking reality is that the UK is missing out on half of its potential engineering and technology workforce by failing to attract women into the industry. It also means that women are losing out on interesting and rewarding career opportunities," she says.

"The difficulty in attracting women into engineering is down to a combination of things: from the careers advice girls are given in schools, to schools not instilling girls with the confidence to opt for science and maths at A-level, through to employers needing to do more to make their approach to recruitment and retention more female friendly.

“There is no easy fix to this problem so it’s important that any future training programmes are developed in close consultation with industry, schools and colleges if we want them to make a real and lasting impact.

“The lack of inspirational engineering role models for girls is also part of the problem so we must make sure we show the next generation that engineering is an interesting and challenging career choice, which is why initiatives like our Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards are so important.”

Here in Bradford positive moves are being made to encourage more women into what were previously considered to be stereotypical male professions.

Sarah Shaw, communications director for WISE (Women in Science and Engineering), a country-wide organisation based in Bradford which supports individuals and companies to recruit and retain women in the STEM sector (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), says: "They are looking at up-skilling the next generation to feed into the UK economy because there is a huge shortage and we are concerned about girls because that is our remit."

Sarah says if it isn't encouraged the country will struggle even more to fill the skills gap that is already developing.

She wants to see girls encouraged from a young age to pursue subjects such as maths and science and consider roles which were stereotypically male dominated.

Sarah believes one of the issues is many girls cannot envisage what an engineering would be like. Their perception may be entirely different to what the role entails which is why they encouraging women in engineering to talk about their jobs to those who may be contemplating a career in that field.

"The feedback we get from girls and women is they are able to be creative and really make a difference to the world rather than just looking at it from a technical point of view," says Sarah.

She says there are so many apprenticeship opportunities available. "It's not about being at the top of the class academically. You can go in as an apprentice and learn on the job. There are a huge amount of opportunities," says Sarah.

"The other side is thinking about the UK, making Britain great again and building up engineering and manufacturing sectors in our country again, being proud of being British, it is all part of that same conversation."

Tony Thompson, construction training manager for Incommunities, a residential social landlord based in Shipley which maintains more than 20,000 properties throughout Bradford district, says they are already involved in an apprenticeship programme. "I think it is positive and I think it can only benefit the industry. We cannot stand still, all industries have got to move forward, especially construction.

"It is all about bringing different skill sets and different approaches."

He says it has been a male dominated industry for many years "but we need to look at our approach, how we deliver our services."

Tony, who recently received a national award for his work encouraging female trade apprentices to build successful constructon careers from HRH The Princess Royal, says they have customers who feel happier with female trades people. "It is meeting that demand and need and exploring our customers' needs."