A TRAINING school in Bradford for Telecoms engineers is opening its doors later this month in a bid to raise the profile of female engineers.

Local people are being invited to the Openreach training centre on Legrams Lane to get a taste of life as an engineer.

It is the first time the centre, which recently marked a successful first year, will open its doors to the public.

The event, on Sunday, June 23, between noon and 2.30pm, has been arranged to coincide with International Women in Engineering Day.

Anyone who’s interested in a career in engineering and lives locally is urged to come along to find out more. There will be female engineers on hand to talk through their experiences and to demonstrate some of the high-tech kit they use on a day-to-day basis.

There will be a chance to take part in various games and challenges linked to engineering as well as an opportunity to watch pole climbing and fibre splicing, and to see what is inside a typical Openreach engineering van.

Visitors will also be able to look around the newly-constructed “Open Street” – a mock-up of a typical suburban street. It gives new recruits and existing engineers the opportunity to develop and enhance their skills in an authentic and controlled environment.

Bradford engineer, Hollie Hutton, said: “A career in engineering is extremely rewarding and I’m hoping the open day will help more women realise that it’s a realistic option. It’s still a largely male-dominated career but times are most definitely changing, which can only be a good thing.

"There will be a few of us on hand on Sunday 23rd to talk through our own experiences, what made us choose a career in this sector, and to answer any questions that people might have."

Openreach is working hard to attract a diverse workforce. Last year, more female engineers joined than in previous years. And recruitment of black, Asian and minority ethnic people has risen nationally from 11 per cent in 2017 to 17 per cent in 2018.

Openreach employs around 2,300 people across Yorkshire, the majority of them engineers, and earlier this year announced a further 200 new recruits.

Kevin Brady, Openreach’s HR director, said: “We are keen to be known as a company that men and women from all walks of life want to work for, and for our workforce to reflect the hugely diverse communities we serve throughout the UK.

“Engineering is a rewarding career and our recent investment in our training facilities means we’ll have more than doubled the learning days we deliver annually, to more than 160,000 people – the highest in the history of our business. This open day is a great opportunity to come and see for yourself what a career in engineering could look like.”

For more information visit openreach.co.uk.